Minor in the Academy
by Komamura's son
Summary: Marcus is still not a legal adult, yet he's already starting his last year at the Cornerian Academy. Though the other classmen give him a hard time, he still manages to get through, with a little help from his roommate. MarcusxOC. slash/Yaoi, don't read if you don't like. Rated T now, but may change later.
1. Chapter 1: The Roommate

**My first Star Fox story, so I thought I use an underrated character. Ever since I got this ending in Command, it has become my favorite ending. Therefore I had to make Marcus the main character in my first Star Fox story. Even if I drew him way differently in my cover. Also one big thing I put in concerning the Cornerian Academy. I made it seem like a regular college despite training their students in war. Classes are in Combat, as in hand-to-hand. Mechanics, maintenance for the Arwings, as well as weapons and other technological stuff. And finally, flight, the most popular and difficult in the academy. Now on to the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, I do not own Star Fox... But they won't let me sign the paper for the rights, they think I'm crazy.**

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><p>It was the beginning of the his last year at the Cornerian academy for Marcus. At the age of 17, he would be the youngest in his class, as well as the youngest to graduate in the whole academy's history. After that, he would be officially allowed to join his father in the dog fights. The blue fox sighed in complete bliss at the thought. He was so wrapped up in his imagination, he didn't realize he made it to his new dorm room. He slid in his card key, and walked inside, only to see a human man half naked doing push ups.<p>

"What the hell?!" He cried, stopping the man in his exercises.

"Oh, yew must be mah roommate." The man replied with a thick southern drawl. He ran a hand through his messy auburn red hair and stood up, clearly taller than the blue fox. "Name's Keith Smith, and yew?"

"Marcus McCloud, can I ask why you're in your boxers?" The fox dropped his duffle bag and crossed his arms.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. I like to stay in shape, and I don't like gettin' my clothes all sweaty. They already get enough stink with all the oil and junk." Keith walked over to his bed to pick up a pair of jeans. "So tell me, what're yew here for?" He asked as he put on his jeans.

"I'm taking combat and Flight training, I'm going to be a mercenary along with my parents and their group." Marcus explained as he picked up his duffle bag and placed it on the empty bed.

"That's awesome, I'm gonna be a mechanic." The blue fox did a double take to see if he heard him correctly.

"So is that why you're covered in so many scars?" The human blinked and started to laugh with a goofy smile.

"Nah man, those are from a ton of other things, I need to tell yew some stories later. Hey why are yew so short?" Keith showed that his mind couldn't focus on one thing for too long.

"Well, I'm 17."

"Damn, I'm 25. How the hell did yew get accepted in here?" Keith wondered as he waited for the answer. The required age to enter the academy is 21 and over.

"My parents pulled some strings. I thought by my last name you would've put two and two together." Marcus sighed expecting the human to start freaking out and begging for autographs and facts about his family.

"Oh, I already figured that out, I was just wondering how ya got enrolled." He bluntly stated.

"That's weird, by now people would be asking so many damn questions." To say Marcus was relieved would be one thing, but he felt a little disappointed for some reason.

"I don't like people that mooch off the fame of their family when they specifically haven't done anything, it ain't right." The human showed a deeper side to his goofy outlook. The fox began unpacking his things and placing his clothes neatly in the dresser next to his bed, he began to daydream about joining his parents in the skies during combat. His fantasy was short lived after realizing he was hungry from a loud grumble in his stomach. _'Now that I think about it, I haven't eaten anything at all.'_ His thoughts were once again interrupted when his roommate called.

"I heard yur stomach barkin' at me, whadya say we go get you a bite to eat."

"Oh no, I don't want to have you spend your money on me." The fox tried to get out of the predicament.

"Then we'll split the bill, come to think of it, we kinda need ta get some groceries and other stuff. This place looks way too plain right now."

"Fine..." Marcus gave in, and grabbed his wallet from his duffle bag and followed Keith out their dorm room and to what he guessed was his car. A black Dodge Charger. The fox stared in awe.

"Hehe, knew yew'd like mah car, anyways, I'm drivin'." The two got in the car, and Marcus couldn't help but notice a guitar in the back seat.

"You play guitar?" He asked as Keith put the key in the ignition.

"Yeah, I've been playin' fer years, but I bought that guitar yesterday, still haven't figured a name fer it yet." After hearing the statement, Marcus took a closer look at the guitar, it was dark blue Gibson Jr.

"It's look great by the way."

"Thanks." He pulled out of the campus of the academy and drove off.

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><p>After filling up on pizza, and splitting the bill as promised, the two spent the rest of the day buying basic home appliances they needed and some food. Though by the time they got back, they still had a couple hours to burn through before bedtime.<p>

"So tell me 'bout yerself." Keith asked as he strummed random chords on his guitar. He set the amp settings low so no one would be bothered by his playing.

"Well, I'm the son of Fox and Krystal McCloud, heir to the Starfox team, and am the youngest ever enter Cornerian Academy." The human scoffed and scratched the small beard on his chin.

"That's not what I wanted to hear, I asked 'bout yew, not yer family and stuff." The fox was stunned by the response he got.

"Well, I don't really know what there is to say about me." Keith gave a warm smile.

"It's ok, I can help ya find out things about yerself, yew really like pizza, that's one thing." Marcus felt embarrassed by the earlier memory. He had devoured more slices than his roommate, though Marcus blamed his hunger for that.

"Thanks, but I think we should do that another time, I'm actually really tired." The fox yawned and changed out of his day clothes to a t-shirt and shorts. He laid on his bed and pulled the covers over himself.

"Eatin' five slices of pizza does make a kid tuckered out. Good night." Keith flip the light switch and threw off his shirt and pants. The older man felt that sleeping in boxers were more comfortable.

"Good night." The fox replied as he drifted to sleep.

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><p><strong>I'll end it right here. Someday, my Spell Check will explode because of Keith. Anyways, hope I did well.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Emotional Troubles

**I might change that cover... I don't know. Just enjoy the story for now.**

**Disclaimer: I tried to get the rights to Star Fox, but Wolf said that he can't let me do that. Also, Eleanor belongs to Stuffy Puppy.**

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><p>"Ay wake up." Marcus stirred in his bed after hearing the voice of his roommate.<p>

"Five more minutes..." He muttered.

"Are yew always this lazy?" Keith pulled the covers off the fox and gained a groan of annoyance from him. _'That's a typical teenager attitude.'_

"Fine, I'll get up." Marcus rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at the clock. 5:34, classes won't begin until 7:50. "So what's for breakfast?"

"You wake up, an' the first thing on yer mind is food? Sheesh kid, you really love to eat." Keith laughed as he walked over to grab his wallet.

"You shouldn't be calling me kid." Marcus yawned and started to dress for the day.

"Yer younger than me, therefore I can call ya kid." The human spat back. Marcus sighed and stretched out his limbs.

"Whatever, but still, what're we gonna eat?" The human gave a toothy smile.

"I'm thinkin' pancakes." Marcus smiled, so far he was loving his roommate. His cheerful attitude would brighten any dull day.

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><p>While they were enjoying their breakfast, Marcus got curious.<p>

"So how did you get those scars on your face?" He asked as he spread more syrup on his last pancake.

"Well, the first one I got was this one." He pointed at his split lip. "I was tryin' to juggle knifes, I was doin' ok 'til I sneezed." Upon hearing his misfortune, the fox began laughing. "Then I got these two after a fight with a bear at a club, but I did kick his ass." Keith indicated towards two cuts on his chin. "And then finally these two, when I was tunin' one of my old guitars, the string broke off and cut me across my nose, I put in another string, but then a different string broke and cut mah nose again." Marcus was completely entertained by the stories, he couldn't stop smiling.

"Wow, you have the worse luck."

"Not really, I have the best luck, doctors are shocked that I'm still alive after all I've been through." Keith was convinced that he was immortal. "What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger."

"Words of wisdom. Oh hey, we should head back, classes start in 30 minutes." Marcus noticed as he looked at the time. Keith said nothing, left a tip, paid the bill and drove them back to the academy.

"See ya back at the at the dorm tonight, I forgot ta mention that I have a date with mah girlfriend." Keith began walking in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, see you then." Marcus waved and walked towards his combat class. On his way, he was pushed into the wall.

"Get a load of the pipsqueak, what's a baby doing here?" A large tiger teased. Many other people began to gather around the young fox. Marcus began to feel threatened and embarrassed by how many people were laughing at him. He started to shrink from the spot he was at. He felt someone have the nerve to throw a punch against his jawline. "You belong here, baby. No matter how famous you're family is, you won't be anything!" The same tiger yelled. The crowd began to decrease in number, returning to their original paths. Marcus rubbed his throbbing jaw, he could taste the blood. But he held back the tears. He already knew if he cried they would be back and do it again. He's already suffered this same treatment before, but he still hated that they would never let up no matter what he did. Yet he knew part of it was his fault, he never spoke a word of this to anyone, not even his parents. Ignoring his pain, Marcus got up and spat out the blood and spit from his mouth. And continued to his class.

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><p>After classes, Marcus suffered one more bit of bullying from more bullies, this time they kicked him in the ribs and stepped on his tail. He was glad to be back in his dorm room alone. But he didn't know how he was going to explain to Keith about his bruises. He jumped into his bed and closed his eyes, letting himself fall asleep for a short time. When he woke up, he decided to listen to music to pass the time. He put his headphones on and blasted his favorite song. Music always calmed his nerves, no matter what crap he had gone through, just one good song would make all that disappear. But it was only a temporary numb, he knew that the next day it would still be the same. And he would just go back in the same position in his bed listening to music, rinse, lather, repeat.<p>

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><p>Keith smiled as he watched his favorite panther neko walk up to his car and entered the passenger seat. Her long flowing hair, complemented by the smoothness of her skin tone. And her ears made her seem even prettier.<p>

"I swear Eleanor, yew get even more beautiful every time I see yew." Keith shared his thoughts with her. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"So we're are we going today?"

"A nice moonlight dinner for mah sweet girl."

"Dinner... oh no, my brother wants me back before night.." Eleanor frowned and felt bad.

"Your brother still doesn't like me?" Keith sighed and wondered for the reasons.

"It's not that he doesn't like you, it's just that he's really protective of me. And he just doesn't think you'll protect me as good as he does." The panther girl sighed and twirled a lock of her hair. "We could just hangout for a while... maybe show me your new dorm room?" She pleaded with happy eyes.

"Ya know I can't say no to that face." Keith smiled and began to drive back to the dorm. "Hey, and yew can meet mah new roommate Marcus, he's a nice kid so far."

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><p>The blue fox sighed in content as he felt the warm water rush down his tired muscles. A nice warm shower did wonders for his bruises. Marcus soaked in the water for a good five minutes before applying his shampoo and lathering his body. After feeling the water get cold, he shut off the shower and dried off his fur. He wrapped the towel around he waist and walked back to his room for a fresh set of clothes. He but on a new set of pants on, but put on a regular t-shirt. Just as he did, the door opened to reveal Keith and a woman with panther ears and a tail.<p>

"Hey Keith, I thought you said you wouldn't be back until later." Marcus watched the two.

"There was a changed in plan, sorry, but this lil' lady is Eleanor, mah girlfriend." Said woman waved a bit.

"Hi, um... don't mind me asking, but do you dye your fur?" She was referring to his blue fur and white hair.

"Oh, no, I get it from my mother." It was at that moment that Eleanor remembered the only vixen in the Lylat system that has natural blue.

"Are you by any chance, Krystal's son?" she asked, eyes widening in anticipation.

"Yeah..." Marcus sighed and immediately regretted answering her.

"Babe, why didn't you tell me you were roommates with Fox McCloud's son!?" She squealed, practically shaking from excitement.

"Well, I didn't think it was such a big deal..."

"He's the son of Heroes, of course it's a big deal!" Marcus watched the couple in the mild argument awkwardly. He didn't like being labeled as Fox and Krystal McCloud's son, he had his own name... but not much to show for it yet. The two kept on with their slight bickering, but it was put to an end when a ringtone went off. Basing off the upbeat music, Marcus guessed that it was Eleanor's. His assumption was confirmed when the panther girl pulled out the source of the ringtone and took the call. She stepped outside to continue her conversation, leaving the human and fox alone in the room.

"Isn't she great?" Keith smiled as he asked Marcus.

"Yeah, she seems nice." The fox wondered if she always acted like this around Keith.

"So, do yew have a girlfriend?" The fox blushed at the thought of dating anyone.

"N-No..." The human noticed his strange behavior.

"Aw c'mon, yew can't tell me that no girl wants this cute face." He started to pinch his cheek in a teasing way. The fox winced at the pain, Keith was pinching the same cheek that was still tender from the earlier punch. Seeing the pain in his face, the human stopped. "Sorry, didn't mean ta pinch ya that hard." Marcus rubbed his cheek and tried to hide the pain. Keith began to noticed the sting in his roommate's face. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Marcus spat back, his tone holding a bit of unintentional poison.

"You don't sound alright, did something happen?" Marcus was about to come clean and explain to him about the bullying, but he was saved or blocked by Eleanor walking back in, looking stressed out.

"I'm so sorry Keith, but Striker wants me back home now." The human sighed and walked towards her.

"Alright, I'll be back soon, 'kay Marcus." The fox nodded and watched as his roommate left. A part of him was relieved that he avoided telling him, but he still felt he needed to know.

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><p>Later that day, Keith came back around 7:30. Marcus was still contemplating on telling the truth, but he decided that he would, only if Keith would ask. But the human only sat on his bed with his hands holding his head. The position he was in was utterly depressing, completely unlike the happy jolly Keith he knew. curiosity got the best of the blue fox.<p>

"Are you ok, Keith?" The human looked up at the fox, he blue eyes looking tired.

"Me an' Eleanor broke up..." He managed to speak.

"What, why?" Marcus was confused, they looked like they were doing fine.

"Her brother was going insane without havin' her by his side. So we both agreed that she needed to stay and look after him..." Keith looked back to the floor. "I'm gonna die alone, now." The fox couldn't stand seeing his smile fad into a frown. All he had known was the happy side of him, and seeing this depressed state he was in, Marcus wanted to make him smile.

"Don't think like that, you can't tell me no girl wants that cute face of yours?" The fox had paraphrased his roommate's own words. Relief washed over the fox when he heard a small chuckle from him.

"Wise words that came from a wise man." And in no time, his big goofy smile was back.

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><p><strong>Well, this chapter took longer than I thought. I wanted to make it shorter, but I just couldn't... it was compelling me to make it longer. Anyways, a little question for everyone. Who do you think is falling for who. Keith loves Marcus or Marcus loves Keith? See ya guys next update.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Sickness

**Changed that cover because I'm incredibly picky with my drawings, but that one came out nicely. It emphasizes the point that this is more of hurt/comfort... dammit, now I have to change that genre...**

**Disclaimer: Not a single fuck is given that I don't own Starfox.**

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><p>Marcus yawned as he got up for the morning. His mind felt fuzzy and his throat felt sore, he felt sickness trying to get him, but he wasn't letting it stop him today. Looking over at the other bed, he realized that Keith was still asleep, so he quickly got dressed for the day. He walked up to his roommate's bed and gently shook him.<p>

"Keith, wake up, it's morning." The human shifted in his bed, showing he was a heavy sleeper. The fox wondered how he could wake him up without being rude. Taking a glance at his bed, he noticed his headphones. An idea popped in his mind, Marcus walked over and grabbed his headphones and placed them on Keith's head. He made sure to keep the volume low at first, then increased the volume gradually. Soon enough, the human opened his eyes to see the fox with a smile.

"Took you long enough to wake up." Keith chuckled, realizing he overslept a bit. He sat upright in his bed and pulled off Marcus' headphones.

"Thanks fer not pouring cold water on me, I gotta say, the music thing was genius."

"Hehe, I got the idea from a science lesson on stimuli. If you jump in boiling hot water, you're going to immediately get out, but if you jump in cold water that is slowly heating up, you won't be quick to get out." The fox scratched the back of his head as he explained.

"Yer really smart, no wonder yer in the academy." The fox blushed upon being complimented.

"Have to be since I've had so many tutors teaching me." Marcus backed away to let Keith have his breathing room to get ready for the day. He wondered if his roommate was really doing fine after the break up, he saw Keith smiling, but that could just be on the outside. Deciding that assumptions won't help ease his mind, he decided to ask.

"So are you ok, I mean about the split between you and Eleanor." Upon being reminded of his ex, Keith's smile faded to a blank stare.

"I'll be fine, not the first I've had my heart smashed ta pieces." Upon hearing the dreaded phrase of 'My heart is broken.' Marcus sighed and let a phrase of his own slip out.

"If your heart was broken, you would be dead, so shut up..." Although the situation of the quote was really too soon, the human couldn't help but fail at suppressing his laughter.

"Smart ass." He couldn't stop smiling at that one sentence, it seemed so mean but he found it funny in this moment. Even Marcus was surprised by his reaction, he expected a set of curses directed at him, not a grown man laughing. The blue fox shook his head. _'Humans are fucking weird.'_

He sat back down on his bed and looked over at the clock, in the classic red colors read, 6:12. Barely paying attention, he could hear the shower turn on.

"Guess he's taking a shower... come to think of it, I think I didn't see him shower at all..." Realization hit that Keith hadn't showered for two days straight. The fox wondered why he never caught a whiff of anything foul on him. His nose was great at detecting faint scents, and he could track easily, but how did this human hide the fact that he didn't get clean for so long? Marcus sat staring at the ceiling trying to solve this little mystery. He decided to test if Keith even did smell in the first place.

Marcus took a deep breath, if he got caught doing this it would be incredibly awkward to explain. He dashed over to Keith's bed and took a deep inhale on his bed sheets. The smell wasn't repulsive to him, in fact, he found it intoxicating. This only stirred more questions for him. Remembering the what he was doing, the fox bolted back to his bed in hopes that he would look innocent.

When Keith emerged from the foggy shower, he had the towel draped around his waist. Marcus decided that eye contact would make him seem guilty of something, so the fox decided to look through his phone, searching for nothing in particular. After a second of nothing, Marcus snuck a peak at Keith, seeing a large burn scar all over his back that even spread out to the back of his arms.

"What's the story on that burn?" The human took a moment to recall the memory.

"Tried deep fryin' turkey." Keith stated, eliciting another laugh from Marcus. "But this one is somehow on top of an existin' burn." The fox instantly stopped in his tracks, thinking about the medical fascination and miracle of being able to gain a burn on top of another burn. "The first one was from this time I tried makin' my own fireworks." And in an instant, his roommate was laughing again. Why he was laughing was still a mystery to the fox himself. Something about imaging Keith getting the scars just made him smile despite the fact that Keith was getting injured.

"Seriously, how do you survive all that?" The human smiled and put on his shirt.

"Dunno, but I figured I'm immortal or some shit. Put me in a war an' Imma come back the only survivor. Hell, I might even be able ta survive a zombie apocalypse." The fox wondered about that image. Picturing Keith emerging from a battlefield with a gun straddled on his shoulder walking while a cliché explosion set off behind him. Then the zombie image, blood that didn't belong him staining his face and clothing. A couple new cuts and scrapes while dirt and claw marks littered his clothing.

"That would be awesome..." Marcus finally found words to express what he was imagining. "Wait, but a mechanic wouldn't really do that well in the heavy fire of war, nor against the undead."

"Who said I was gonna be by myself, I can have a little help. I think yew would be great havin' my back out there." He smiled, thinking about helping his new friend in fatal moments. Before Marcus could add his thoughts, he began to have a coughing fit. "Wow, are yew ok?" Keith rushed to the fox.

"I-I think I'll be fine..." His voice raspy and low. The sudden coughing worried him.

"I don't think so, yew where fine minutes ago and now yer coughing like an old geezer. Yer gettin' sick." The human put his palm on Marcus' forehead. "Yer burnin' up."

"I have fur, I'm always warm." The fox lied back to him. But he knew the human wouldn't buy that excuse.

"Yer stayin' here 'til ya get better. No ifs, ands, or buts." Marcus let out a sigh of defeat, knowing full well Keith wouldn't let him go to class sick. But he had to thank him in a way, at least he wouldn't have to deal with the bullying today.

"Fine... dammit, my mom's going to freak..."

"Why?" Keith couldn't help but ask. The fox looked through his contacts on his phone while explaining.

"She kinda smothers me, so every time I get sick, she always fears it, like if I was on my deathbed." The fox put the phone to his ear as he waited.

"Oh, so who're yew callin'?"

"Exactly who I was talking about... Hello? Hey mom, sorry to tell you this but I'm kind of getting sick... no it's fine! NO, mom don't... and she hung up." Marcus deadpanned and felt a headache approaching as he slumped back into his bed.

"I'm afraid ta ask, but what happened?"

"I told her I was sick, now she's on her way over here to nurse her baby back to health..." The fox sighed. Keith smiled, he found it funny that he had all that maturity but still acts like a teenager.

"I think she might have Empty Nest Syndrome. Ya know, when parents still miss their children after they leave usually fer college or when they move out."

"Wow, that actually makes sense. Even more since I'm not even 18 yet." Marcus wondered if that was the real reason she worried for him before.

"Maybe just don't complain and let her get some of it out her system?" The fox stared back at Keith and nodded. He was starting to feel lightheaded after all the talking. He closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep. Keith smiled looking at the tired out fox, he did him a favor and properly tucked him into the bed. Hearing his soft snores and rising chest, the human had to admit that it was a bit adorable. The human sat back on his bed and looked at the clock, 7:53. They had been talking for around two hours, even if Marcus wasn't sick, they would still be late for their classes.

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><p>Thirty minutes passed and Marcus was still asleep. Keith stayed in the room, waiting for his mother to come and help. He wondered for a second, from what Marcus pointed out about his mother and how he was acting, they seemed like a normal family. The mother always caring and worrying for her son while said son is slightly annoyed by the constant babying. He could only wonder how his father was, not much was explained on how he acted. Keith was brought out of his thoughts by the knocking on their door. He immediately answered the door to see a very beautiful blue vixen. It was easy to tell she was the famous Krystal.<p>

"Hello, I'm here to take care of my son, might I ask your name?" She asked with a polite smile.

"Keith Smith, it's an honor to meet yew Mrs. McCloud, Marcus is sleeping right now." Krystal shook his hand and walked in.

"I'm glad to hear that he's getting some rest, and it's been ages since I've seen my pup sleep." She looked over at her son, she noticed a faint smile across his muzzle. She could see what he was dreaming about, but decided that her son needed privacy. "He always looks so cute when he sleeps..."

"Wonder what he's dreamin' 'bout." Keith had absentmindedly said. Krystal figured she wasn't the only one curious about that.

"Some things are best left unknown, I should know." She got up and walked to their kitchen area. "So are you and my son getting along?" The vixen looked through the fridge and picked out a couple ingredients.

"I think we're doing well as friends." The telepathic vixen took a moment to scan his mind for any sign of lying.

"You seem to be telling the truth, glad you're being honest and to hear about Marcus making a friend." Keith blinked twice, sudden realizing that he can't lie to Krystal. Really hard since she can read thoughts.

"How long have you've been reading my mind?" He accused the vixen. She chuckled as she looked through the cabinets for a pot.

"Long enough to know about how he helped you get over a break up, but apparently not long enough to know where the blasted cooking pot is. Never mind, found it." She left the human to his thoughts, although she was currently keeping an eye on those as well. "So how long have you've been developing feelings for my son, I can't get an accurate set time."

"...Fuuuuuuu-About last night..." Keith sighed and blushed. Krystal smiled happily as she began chopping up carrots and potatoes.

"Hmm, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. Just treat him nicely. Can you be a gentleman and buy me some chicken, I don't want this soup to taste bland." She asked all with a smile.

"Wait... so does that mean-"

"I'm his mother and on top of that, I can read minds, I know more things about him than he does himself. But I don't want to tell you everything. That would be unfair and cheap, just wait for the right moment and soon you'll be pushing both your beds together." _'How the hell can she be so calm about this?!' _"I kill things for a living, dealing with a little love affair is nothing compared to that." She answered his mental frustration.

"Ok... Imma go get that chicken..." The human left the room with his cheeks burning a bright red. A minute after he left, Marcus rose from his bed and noticed his mother cooking.

"Mom...?"

"Go back to bed, honey. I'm not done cooking yet." Marcus didn't argue, he felt even worse after his sleep that he didn't want to be moving around. He laid his head back into the pillow and shut his eyes.

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><p><strong>Fucking psychics... That's all I have to say about that. It was fun writing in Krystal, making her be a little mischievous in this. I love when people get embarrassed and blush, it's so adorable. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. And it is revealed that Keith does have feelings for Marcus, but will they be returned? Only Krystal knows and she's not telling. See ya guys next time.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Truth

**Another chapter! And I'm so glad how quickly people are liking it. It makes me try harder for all of you guys.**

**Disclaimer: The only things I own related to Starfox is Command and I used to have the original 64 version... I miss that old cartridge. TT^TT**

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><p>Marcus stared up at the ceiling, feeling horrible to the point that it prevented him from blissful sleep. Though his mother's humming did bring back nice memories of his childhood. He wondered if his mother read his roommate's mind yet.<p>

"Mom, can I ask a question?" The young fox asked from his bed. The vixen stopped her humming.

"The answer is yes, it's perfectly natural."

"Wait, what...?" Marcus shot up in his bed to look at his mother, despite the slight headache he just caused himself. "What did you think I was thinking?"

"Oh sorry, honey. I actually assumed what you were going to ask... Alright, no mistakes this time, I had Keith go and fetch me a chicken to add in the soup." Krystal had recovered from the slight mistake. She was expecting her son to come out, but apparently he still wasn't aware of his own feelings. The fox scratched his head in confusion.

"Ok... but what did you mean it was perfectly natural?" Marcus kept bringing back the failure of intuition earlier. Krystal thought for a moment to come up with a lie.

"Oh, just about your sickness." The vixen hoped his son would believe it. Marcus kept a stoic face and seemed to look through his mother. Krystal was feeling a bit nervous being put under the microscope by her son. She knew his pilot eyes could detect what would've been missed by any other person.

"Tell the truth, mom." Marcus crossed his arms, looking a bit irritated with this situation.

"You'll know soon enough Marcus, it just wouldn't be fair if I spoiled everything for you." The young fox sighed, she used that excuse whenever he wanted to know what others were thinking about him. "Just know that you're my child and I will love you no matter what you become." Marcus didn't understand what she meant by that, so he fell back into bed and went back to staring at the ceiling. He wanted to fume his frustrations, but you can't do that when your mother is a telepath, she'll hear every curse and scold him later.

He heard the door open and sighed in relief, his roommate was back with chicken. Also, he could be a distraction for his mother. Even psychics can't read more than one mind well.

"Hey, sorry I took so long, there was too much traffic." Keith apologized as he handed the bag with the chicken to Krystal. After doing so, he looked over to find Marcus awake. "How ya feelin' bud?" He looked directly into the fox's green eyes.

"Like my head is being dipped into Solar." Marcus soon had the human's hand on his forehead.

"Damn, are yew sure soup will make him feel better?" He turned to the vixen chopping up the chicken.

"Well, soup was the only healthy thing I could make with your ingredients. But he needs to have a full stomach before taking any medicine." Krystal dumped the chopped poultry into the pot and stirred the whole soup for a moment. "After his medicine, then we can try and bring his temperature down."

The human nodded. Yet he still worried for his roommate. The vixen took a ladle and began pouring a serving into a bowl for her son.

"Open wide." His mother attempted the old fashion spoon feeding.

"Mom, I'm not four anymore I can-" Taking the moment he was complaining, Krystal found the opening to feed him. Keith couldn't help but chuckle at the look Marcus had when he swallowed. A mixture of thanks, questioning, and utter annoyance all in one stare.

"Oh, this brings me back to when you were a puppy, you always looked so cute." All Marcus wanted to do now is to lie back in bed and hope this fever somehow becomes severe so he can die than to suffer more through this embarrassment. Keith was hoping that Krystal had any baby pictures on her, just to have confirmation if the fox was cute as she said he was. "Do you want to see some pictures, Keith?"

"MOM!" The fox felt warmer than the center of Solar. Keith on the other hand was elated to hear that question. '_Oh right, she must've read my mind... Thank you telepathic_ soon-to-be_ mother-in-law!' _He praised her in his mind, then realized what he did moments. _'Sorry, got too excited.' _The vixen smiled at him, as if she didn't take any offense to it. More flattered than anything.

Marcus on the other hand was wondering why the two were so quiet at the moment. He wondered if Keith was actually contemplating on it. And then came the answer he did not want to hear.

"I loved to see some." Keith watched as the blue fox turned a deep shade of red. He wondered how his blush didn't make his fur look purple. (Nintendo logic, that's my excuse for that) The vixen fished in her purse and pulled out a small photo book. She handed him the pictures and smiled, despite knowing her son was dying of embarrassment. Before opening the small photo album, Keith could've sworn that he saw Marcus' soul fly out of his body. The first page was of a pregnant Krystal with the proud looking Fox McCloud holding her close. The next was of Marcus as a new born, he looked as if he was yawning as he slept in a crib. He looked absolutely adorable with just a tuft of white on his head, but even now with his hair long and swept to the side he looked cute.

"Man yer cute." Keith had slyly complimented him, not referring to the picture. Ignoring the scoff and growl from him, Keith flipped through more pictures. He skipped the baby years for the sake of his friend and found him looking at Marcus around the age of 12. He was standing next to another boy around his age. The boy was a grey wolf with light blue eyes.

"Hey is this your friend?" Keith pointed at the wolf, Krystal sighed.

"That's the son of Wolf O'Donnel, Luke." The human stared at the picture and noted that they did look alike. "But he's adopted, apparently that man does have a heart." Krystal yet again answered an unasked question.

"That's actually the last time I saw him..." Marcus had a look of depression, far from the embarrassment he had before. "His dad started training him after that."

"Some say Wolf only took him in because he looked like him, or it could be he wanted to pass on his legacy, or the fact he didn't have a wife to have his own pups, for all I know, it could've been all those reasons." Krystal theorized. Keith wondered how Marcus and Luke acted around each other.

"Wonder why he doesn't have a wife..." Keith wondered and got a stare from the vixen.

"Honey, eat your soup, I need to speak with Keith." She placed the bowl in his lap and began to push Keith out the dorm room. She gave him a serious look and it scared the human. "The reason he never married is because he had feelings for someone he couldn't have."

"Oh, well that's sad..."

"It gets worse, the one person he loved is actually his biggest rival." Keith's jaw dropped, he could not believe what he was just told. "That's right, he had the hots for my husband."

"Are yew sure?" Krystal kept her stoic face and nodded.

"Back when I was with StarWolf, Panther explained it to me." The human didn't know what was worse, the fact that Wolf will be lonely or that his adopted son was friends with his only love's child. He shook the thought away and proceeded to walk back in the dorm. The vixen understood what he was thinking about and agreed that it was a sad thought.

When Keith walked back in, Marcus was half way through his bowl. The human smiled and grabbed his guitar in the corner and plugged it into a small amp.

"What are you doing?" The fox asked just as his mother walked back in and resumed her seat by her son's side.

"It's nice ta have music while yew eat." He began strumming, testing the tuning at first. After debating on what song he should play, he decided on a mind blowing song. He began his playing, shocking both the blue foxes. The chords sounded flawless, the notes came out smooth until around the chorus where it had picked up but went back to it's smooth intro. the fox enjoyed it, despite his headache. He continued to eat with a smile on his face.

Krystal appreciated how Keith was treating her son, she couldn't think of anyone else she would want to care for him, whether it was roommate wise or relationship wise. The human seemed like the perfect match for him. Keith was so caught up in his playing, he didn't know that Marcus had finished his soup and taken his medicine. Keith rested his guitar against his bed after playing and watched as Krystal tucked in her son.

"Now just rest and you'll feel better. Goodbye honey." She gave him one kiss in the forehead and pinched his cheek.

"Mom..." Marcus growled in an annoyed tone again, trying to hide some pain from the pinch. Keith chuckled at this childish version of the young fox, but the small faint look of pain reminded him of the night before. How he was going to question about his swelled cheek, but never got around to it since the break up with Eleanor. Realizing this, Keith quickly distracted his thoughts to throw off Krystal, if she was still listening. He didn't want to worry her more with whatever was the story Marcus was hiding.

When the door closed behind the vixen, Keith waited a minute or so to insure she couldn't read his mind from outside the room. He looked over to see Marcus with his eyes closed.

"Hey, are yew asleep?"

"No, what?" The fox opened his eyes and turned his head to the human.

"How ya feelin' now?"

"Better, my headache's gone, but my body still feels warm." The fox closed his eyes again. "Man, today was the worse..."

"What about your cheek?" Keith asked, Marcus' eyes widened. _'Damn, I thought he forgot about_ that.' The fox sat up in his bed and looked at his roommate.

"I got beaten up, my cheek is bruised and I got a couple more on my ribs." The fox confessed, this time the human's eyes widen.

"Why the hell did they beat yew up!? Do ya know who it was!?" His anger began to flare at a dangerous level. He could not believe that Marcus never told him about it.

"I've been bullied ever since I joined the academy, it's the classic pick on the small kid. And how could I keep track of who did it when it was a whole crowd?" His tone stayed emotionless, yet Keith's was rising.

"That's it, yer not goin' to class anymore."

"What?! But I have to!" Marcus couldn't stand one day without a class, and at the moment, Keith was acting like an overprotective parent.

"Let me finish. Yer not goin' to class anymore, unless yew have me by yer side. I'll defend ya and kick a couple of Jackasses for doin' this to ya." The human kept a serious face, which seemed a bit scary with his scars. Marcus knew that it was best not to deny Keith, so the fox thanked him.

"Thanks, but you don't have to do this." Keith walked up to his bed and lowered himself to meet his eyes.

"No I don't, but I want to." The human gave back his signature grin to lighten up the mood. " Now get some rest, I need to work out and I know ya don't want to see me in mah underwear again." The fox let a small chuckle escape his lips.

"Alright, I'll get some rest. Thanks Keith." Marcus laid back into bed.

"No problem kiddo."

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><p><strong>I love embarrassing the characters... Moms, they always do that. And I know this isn't really important, but if you kinda are interested to know what Keith played, he played the song Yobanashi Deceive. I suggest listening to JubyPhonic's English dub of it, just so you understand the song. Now I can't stop thinking about Kano's hoodie in that song, great... I want that hoodie! (You also don't have to do this, but the hoodie is in my profile pic and cover art for Pet Hunter... and in that song) Anyways, hope you liked that chapter.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Body Guard

**Next chapter. And my throat is killing me, last time I sing without tea nearby.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Starfox, I would make another game and not a remake, a true sequel.**

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><p>Keith stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts keeping him from sleep. He couldn't understand why Marcus should be bullied in the first place. Yes he's a child prodigy, but that doesn't mean you have beat him up just because he's a kid. And that statement just furthered his anger, Marcus is still 17, and yet he's being beaten by full grown adults. You'd think that they have respect for a kid in their ranks, but it just seems they would rather pick on him. It just makes no sense. But I guess they see that it's better to be feared than to have his respect.<p>

The human sighed and turned in his bed. He looked at the sleeping fox, a small smile on his face as he slept. He wondered how he could sleep so soundly knowing what he would have to go through the morning after. Keith figured he was used to the pain and shrugs it off. But it's not healthy keeping emotions bottled up. If you don't cry now, how do you expect to smile in the future?

Keith ran a hand through his messy red hair, he'll make sure to knock some sense in those damn bullies and give Marcus his shoulder to cry on. But for now, he needed some shut eye. He needed to be fully energized for what might come tomorrow. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

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><p>The following morning Keith prepared himself for the day, as well as reheat some leftover soup. He had to admit, Krystal was a nice cook. The second he saw Marcus rise up in his bed, he offered him a bowl.<p>

"How ya feelin' today?" Keith asked, full concern in his voice.

"Healthy enough to be able to go to class today." Marcus smiled, but his roommate still kept a serious face. The look he was getting soon made his own smile fade.

"Keith, you don't have to do this. They're not going to stop, I've tried fighting back before." The fox pleaded him not get himself involved.

"That's 'cause yew didn't have anyone to back ya up. Yew can't stop me from tryin'." The human sat by his bedside. "Now get dressed, we have a long day ahead of us." The fox stared at the bowl he was given and scarfed down his food. He got up to stretch and put on his regular attire. He looked over at the clock to see they still had an hour and a half to kill.

"So what do we do now, we still have a ton of time on our hands?" The fox brushed his hair and turned to the human.

"I dunno about yew, but I'm playin' mah guitar." Keith responded, grabbing his blue Gibson Jr. Marcus sighed and sat back in his bed, listening to the chords he played. He wondered where Keith got all his music from, Marcus was a lover of all kinds of music, but he never heard the type Keith played. The fox closed his eyes to get a bit of rest and still his beating heart. He was nervous about what might happen, he didn't want his roommate getting hurt protecting him. He hated being a burden on others, but it was his choice to tell Keith the truth, so he brought this upon himself.

"Hey, Marcus. What's yer dad like?" The fox didn't realize that the guitar playing stopped. He kept his eyes closed and answered him.

"You know, hero of Lylat and all that jazz." He could feel the stare Keith was giving him.

"That's not what I meant. I mean how does he treat ya? 'Cause after meetin' yer mom, she's like any other mother, so I'm wondering if yer dad acts like that too." Marcus thought for a moment.

"He's like all dads I guess. Expects a lot from me, is a bit proud of what I've done so far." The fox opened his eyes and turned his head to the human. "But I don't see him enough. Well, I don't get see either of my parents that much, but at least mom tries to take a moment to ask me how I'm doing. Dad... I think he put the bar too high for me." Keith cupped his own chin with his hand, scratching his goatee a bit.

"What do ya mean?"

"I guess he thinks I'm tough enough to brave out the life of any mercenary despite my age. Like he thinks I'm indestructible and and nothing could take me down. But I'm not."

"Yer still just a kid, and yet he thinks of yew as a grown up." The fox nodded. The human began to think about all the things Marcus missed having to grow up at a young age. Teen years can be the greatest years depending on how you play the cards you are given. "Yew should be experiencing life at a better pace, yew should be in High School, askin' a girl to Prom."

"I wouldn't even know what to say to a girl..." The fox turned his body away. Hiding the embarrassment on his face.

"Hmmm, ya know what, Imma help you find a find a girlfriend." The fox turned around quickly, accidentally rolling off his bed to land on his front body.

"WHAT?!" His face burning red again, just like the day before.

"Yew heard me, I'm gonna help ya find a girlfriend, someone yer age of course." The human smiled, despite hearing the protests from the fox. Although he was beginning to care for him in a closer way, he knew that it would be wrong. Despite having Krystal's blessing, he didn't want to take a chance at it. He did want Marcus to be happy, it just wasn't going to be him.

With the conversation getting a bit off track, it kept Marcus from thinking about the bullies. Putting his mind at ease for the moment.

"Crap, we gotta go, I'll take ya out to meet a couple gals after class." Keith got up and placed his guitar in it's proper place. The fox calmed down from his earlier outburst and sighed defeated.

"Alright."

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><p>The two began to walk through the campus for a while. So far they made it halfway without any interruption from anyone. Marcus had forgotten about his troubles. But the human didn't forget. He was keeping an eye out for any trouble that might come their way. He suspected that today would be ok. Just as he let his suspicions slip away. A rock collided with the back of Marcus' head, knocking him down to the ground.<p>

"Marcus!" Keith kneeled down to his fallen friend and sent a glare all around him. Searching for the one responsible for throwing the rock. He noticed in the crowd, a couple guys laughing and pointing at them. Noticing that they weren't paying attention at the moment, Keith pulled out a ratchet he kept in his bag. Without a second thought, he tossed it at one of them, smiling as it made contact with a tiger's nose.

"What the hell?!" His friends cried as they looked over at the smiling human. The tiger recovered and ran up to Keith, his nose bleeding a bit.

"What the fuck was that for?" He growled. Keith glared at him.

"I should be askin' yew the same thing, why the hell did ya throw that rock at my friend!?" The tiger wiped away the blood and looked over at Marcus still on the ground.

"Because the kid doesn't belong here, he's too weak and pathetic to be here."

"He's a kid, yew think he deserves what yer doin' to him. He never did anything to yew!" The fox got up in a seated position, rubbing the back of his head and looking at the argument before him. Before long, the tiger gave Keith a punch to his jawline. Reeling back from the impact, Keith struggled a bit before regaining his balance.

When he got back in front of the tiger, he send a jab with his left to his chest and followed up with a right hook to hit his nose again. Hoping his face was still sensitive from the ratchet earlier. The large feline staggered back, Keith played a smart move and kept his foot on his opponent's, causing him to fall onto his back.

The human smiled and walked away. Giving Marcus a helping hand to bring him back to his feet. Without any words, he dragged the fox out of the scene, eventually bringing him to his class.

"Keith... how did you beat him so quickly?" The human put on his signature goofy smile.

"Tigers have sensitive noses, hit that and they'll go down easily." The fox smiled in return, feeling a bit better about the protection he was getting from his roommate.

"Thank you, Keith." Marcus showed his gratitude with a small hug. The human didn't return the hug back, only gave a pat on his shoulder and chuckled.

"I'm here for ya anytime, kiddo." Taking his leave, Keith waved goodbye before setting off for his own class.

He was happy about the hug. He wanted desperately to return it back, but Marcus was still a kid. It's not right to take advantage of that. Though, he knew that the fox would be a lot happier with someone else. Not with a low level mechanic like himself.

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><p>After classes, the human made his way for Marcus' classroom, to ensure he would be safe on the way back as well. He watched as the tuft of white headfur walked up to him. Of course instead of a hi, he petted the fox in front of him.<p>

"So how was yer day?" Marcus bat away Keith's hand, yet he still held firm a grin.

"Fine, let's just back to the dorm, I'm hungry." He pleaded, hoping Keith forgot about an earlier topic.

"Yer not weaseling out of this, I promised I'd get ya a girlfriend." Keith crossed his arms to be serious, although his grin was still there, eliminating the serious effect.

"I was hoping you forgot about that... Fine, we're we going?"

"The number one place teens yer age go to." He began to walk away as he explained. "The mall."

The fox swore in his mind, thankful that his mother wasn't around to hear what words he was thinking. Marcus drudged behind him slowly, he honestly didn't want to date anyone. He just didn't find any interest in the whole dating scene. Still moping as Keith drove them, Marcus stared outside the window. Seeing many teenagers, how they acted, how they dressed. He just didn't seem connected to them in any way, like he was born in the wrong generation.

Even as they walked through the mall, Marcus kept a close eye on the teens. Watching their antics and reactions to said antics. He just didn't understand them.

"See any girl ya like?" His roommate brought him out of his thinking. Marcus shook his head.

"No, I don't get kids my age. They seem a little... wild to me."

"Like what?"

"I... I don't know." The fox's ears drooped as he lowered his head. The sad expression on his face putting a bit of regret in the human. He couldn't bear to see him this way. Keith scanned the people in the crowds and noticed a group of girls staring in their direction.

"Ey Marcus. Over there." He pointed to the same girls. "Try talking to them." Despite more protests from the blue fox, Keith pushed Marcus in the right direction and gave him a look to keep going.

"Dammit Keith..." Marcus took in a deep breath and approached them. It was only three girls, a brown rabbit wearing a light blue clothing. A raccoon with black hair. And finally a doe with small white freckles on her face. "Um... hi." Marcus greeted, the awkward tension around him could be cut with a knife.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Hello." All three responded at the same time. All their attention focused directly at the blue fox. They stood they in silence for a full minute. Watching the whole thing, Keith had never seen such an awkward moment.

"... My name's Marcus by the way." Having no idea how to start a conversation, the fox gave his name.

"Emi."

"I'm Allison."

"My name's Marie." After name's were given, silence crept back on them. The raccoon looked at her phone.

"Our movie's about to start, we have to go."

"Oh." Emi replied. The doe looked over at Marcus.

"We're sorry we have to leave. It was nice meeting you Marcus. Maybe we'll see you around school." With that said, the three left the fox by himself.

"Man, this is tougher than I thought." Keith sighed as he walked up to Marcus.

"I don't know how to talk to other kids... I've only spoken to adults all my life, besides Luke." Upon mention of Wolf's son, questions began circulating in the human's mind.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it one bit. You'll get used to it and ask a girl out someday." The fox looked up at his roommate.

"You think so?"

"I know so." The human pat Marcus on the back and made him smile.

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><p><strong>Well, that chapter's done... I just realized. I think I'm the first to pair Marcus with a Male OC. That means I just started a ship. I feel like people will make more of this kind of pairing now since I started it... Eh, all I know is, my throat feels better after all that tea.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: New Trouble

**Next chapter. And don't worry about that flamer guys. I'm making sure his hateful words never appear in the reviews. I have to thank PyroSolracIII for finally knocking a bit of sense in me to moderate and delete the flames, since that flamer obviously won't stop unless I just get rid of his reviews (Honestly, I didn't know how to till now). I originally was going to put a rant against that Flamer, but after writing it out... it took up over 700 words... And I honestly want to write the story more than rant your heads off. And thanks to Bryan McCloud for giving me the new plot line, I needed to think of a good one and he gave one that's great, though I did add a little twist to it.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Starfox, just so I can see if Nintendo would agree with me and make this story canon... At least somewhat canon.**

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><p>The fox ate at his pizza at a slow pace, Keith noticed his sad expression and felt bad for him. A bit relieved that he didn't get a girlfriend, but he just wanted Marcus to interact with kids his age. Then a light bulb lit off in his head.<p>

"Hey, Marcus, change of plans, instead of finding you a girlfriend, how 'bout I find ya some friends?" The fox paused at taking another bite to think about what his roommate just suggested. Truth be told, he did need friends, Keith was his only one at the moment.

"Are you sure? You saw how I acted before..." He looked at ground, still feeling that awkwardness loom over him.

"Maybe 'cause it was girls, but with a couple of guys, then maybe you'll open up a bit more." Marcus let the logic set in his mind. He looked around to observe the guys his age.

"I don't know, they seem like smaller versions of the guys at the academy." He was referring to the horseplay that most teenagers always do. Either that or weird hipster kids and trend followers. He let out a sigh of defeat. "I'm disappointed in this generation..." (I tend to say that same line a lot)

"Ya have ta cut through a ton of bullshit before ya find real friends." Keith added. The fox smiled a bit, thinking about the meaning in that phrase.

"After all I've been through, I got to be friends with you." Marcus got up and began to scout out any potential friends in the crowds. After spotting a gray lynx sitting by himself on a bench, he set his target. "Found one, I'll be right back Keith, wish me luck."

"G'luck, buddy." The human gave his signature goofy grin whilst saluting to his friend. Filled with a bit more confidence than before, he approached the lynx. This time instead of directly talking to him, he just sat by his side. The lynx looked over at him.

"Hey."

"Hi there." The fox replied just as unenthusiastically as the other.

"So any reason you're sitting here?" The lynx asked, a bit annoyed about the weird blue fox sitting next to him.

"You looked kinda lonely and I figured you needed someone to talk to just like me." Marcus stated bluntly.

"Did I really look that lonely?" The fox nodded. Glad he was able to get through this conversation without messing up. "So what's your name?"

"Marcus, you?" The fox stretched out his paw for a handshake.

"Micheal." He grasped his paw and shook it with a smile.

Keith watched as the two made small talk, he was glad that Marcus finally made progress. He was glad he realized the girlfriend idea was the wrong approach. Taking another bite of pizza, the human chuckled about the girlfriend plan failing. Though he did want someone other than himself to make him happy, he was still a bit relieved that Marcus was an awkward guy.

"Wait, you go to Cornerian Academy, but you look like you're around my age." Micheal stared at the fox in disbelief.

"I am, and that redheaded human over there is my roommate." Marcus pointed towards Keith, who was at the moment sipping some soda and staring at the fountain in the center of the mall.

"No way, do you even know him?" The lynx was a bit skeptical, but Marcus just got up and smiled.

"We could go talk to him." Micheal thought it over for a while.

"Alright." He replied while getting up. The two made their way to the human. When said human saw his roommate walking back to him with someone following, he grinned and greeted them.

"Hey Marcus, yew gonna introduce me to yer friend?" The human couldn't stop smiling, he was completely happy for Marcus.

"Hey, my name's Micheal, uh Marcus said he goes to Cornerian Academy, is that true?" The lynx scratched the back of his head.

"Yup, he and I are roommates. And he's purty smart fer bein' 17." The fox slightly blushed from the compliment.

"That's awesome, have you flown an Arwing yet?" The lynx began shooting question after question for Marcus to answer. And for once, the fox didn't mind a bit answering all of them. The three continued to talk for an hour or so before Micheal had to leave. But not without exchanging numbers with Marcus. The human couldn't be anymore proud for the fox. So much, he put him in a headlock and began to shake him a bit.

"I'm so proud of ya, Marcus!"

"Gah!" The fox was caught by surprise, the fox's battle insticts kicked in and he got out of the headlock. Then proceeding to flip the human over his shoulder, landing him on his back on the hard ground. Keith groaned, but got back up and popped his back. "Sorry Keith, should warn me next time when you try that."

"Lesson learned, now let's go home."

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><p>The first thing the two did when they got back in their dorm, was fight over the shower. It wasn't really a fight, more of playful bickering about who gets to shower first.<p>

"I get all greasy and grimy from workin' on Arwings."

"Fine, you can shower first." The fox sighed defeated. The human ran into the bathroom, smile never fading.

"Dammit, we're outta of shampoo!"

"What, we have plenty." Marcus began to wonder. The human emerged out and pointed at his own messy hair.

"We have plenty of your fur shampoo, but I need the kind fer hair." The fox had forgotten that Keith was a human, if that was even possible considering he called him a human earlier that day. "I'll just go to the store and buy some more, stay here and enjoy yer shower."

And in that moment, the fox was smiling for his stoke of luck. He made his way in and immediately started running the water, hearing the door shut as he did. Although he was already relaxed from the today, having made another friend, he still managed to relax even beyond that. During his scrubbing, he heard the door open and shut. _'That was really quick.'_ As he questioned the speedy buy of the shampoo, he heard the door to the bathroom open.

"Keith, what are you doing?" The fox shut the water off and pulled the shower curtain off a bit for him to see, but just as he did, he caught a glimpse of a stranger, right before feeling something sting in his neck. His vision began to fade quickly, along with his motor skills and conscious. Before he knew it, he hit the tile floor hard after losing consciousness.

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><p><strong>Cue dramatic music! Sorry that the chapter was short, I was having trouble trying to get this chapter to flow well without giving too much info about that cliffhanger. So hope ya enjoyed it, and I will immediately take off the flames if he comes back. I already took off his other flames.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Bonds

**Hopefully I've made up for the short chapter last time.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I want to own in Starfox is Starwolf"s theme. I'm pretty sure a ton of people just nodded their heads in agreement right now.**

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><p>After buying his much needed shampoo, Keith was returning back to his dorm room. Hoping that Marcus was out of the shower by now. He whistled a tune as he casually strolled through the halls of the dormitory until noticing a trail of wet marks all over the carpet. He disregarded it until noticing they lead to the open doorway of his room. Sprinting inside, he found that the wet trail led from the bathroom.<p>

By now Keith was examining the shower, finding that the floor was wet as well and that Marcus' clothes were still in the hamper. Going back to the room, he checked through Marcus' drawer to see if any clothes were missing, or if anything was missing. Nothing. Everything was still neat and tidy. So either Marcus decided to walk around the dorm naked, or someone kidnapped him.

Before pushing worse thoughts in his mind, he looked through his things for the one thing he would need. The fox's phone.

"Shit! Pattern lock!" The human swore seeing the nine dots in a complete even square. Waiting for a possible answer to come to mind, the human remembered another way of finding out the password. He held the screen under the light of a desk lamp to notice smudges on in a distinct pattern. "Gotcha..." He smiled as he easily unlocked the phone. He browsed through the contacts to find a certain three letter name for a certain blue vixen.

Keith waited very impatiently as the dial tone kept ringing in his ear. He tapped his foot repeatedly, hoping that Kyrstal would pick up.

"What is it, sweety?" Her voice came in just as gleeful as it was when they met. It actually put the human in a horrible state of mind, knowing her cheer wouldn't be for long.

"Hello Mrs. McCloud, it's Keith, I have some bad news fer ya..." He felt his heart sank as he knew there was no going back on telling her.

"Did Marcus get sick again?"

"No he's... He's gone. He's not in the dorm, all his clothes are here, and... and ..." Keith began to panic, his voice dropping as the thoughts he was trying to suppress were staring to bubble and take root in his mind.

"Oh no, Keith calm down, I'll be there as soon as I can!" Kyrstal hung up, leaving the human to grieve alone. He feel back into his own bed. The horrible possibilities and what ifs popping into his mind. He could only hope that the fox was still breathing and unharmed. His emotions began to flare, thinking about the hatred towards whoever had taken him away. If Keith ever found the person that took Marcus away, he would guarantee that they won't be put in a prison.

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><p>Cold. That's all he felt, the numbing chill of the air around him. Mind numbed from the temperature and lingering tranquilizer, the fox attempted to get up. But to no avail, his arms were tied up, and as were his feet. Though the way he was tied, he could easily get to his feet, but his body was still motionless, denying his commands to move.<p>

Marcus opened his eyes, seeing the dimly lit room with only a door adorning the wall he was facing. After struggling to turn his head, the fox found that the rest of the room had various tools spread out on small tables. Thoughts of torture popped into his mind, only to be shot down when realizing that the tools were that of a locksmith.

Marcus sighed in relief, looking down at his own body to find himself surprisingly clothed. A loose fitting black t-shirt, and jeans, but no shoes or socks. He wondered what was the purpose of all this. None of it made sense. Why capture him to tie him up in a room with lock picking equipment, and go as far as to give him a set of clothes? Marcus felt his body's function slowly return to him, but standing up was still beyond him, he still needed a bit of rest before he could start his escape plan.

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><p>Krystal ran through the halls of the dormitory, following the feeling of intense grief and self-loathing coming from her son's room. She found the door wide open, and Keith laying back in his bed, arm covering his face.<p>

"Keith, tell me what happened." The vixen was just as worried as he was, only she knew what to do in this situation. The human didn't move from his spot, but explained.

"When we got home today, we kinda had a small argument about who was gonna take a shower first. But we were out of human shampoo so I had to get some, when I came back, Marcus was gone..." He bit his tongue to prevent himself from going over the edge. He could taste the metallic blood, but he ignored it. "All his clothes are still here, an' there was a wet trail coming from the bathroom out into the hall, but it ends in the middle of the hall." He began to choke over his own words, regretting ever leaving.

"Keith, it's not your fault. Now calm down." Krystal sat at his side and rubbed his arm. "I'll find him, and if I don't, Marcus is more than capable to get out of any trouble." She noticed him beginning to shiver and convulse roughly. The poor thing was in ruins, slowly losing his mind thinking of all the bad outcomes. Blaming himself for this.

"I-I can't believe I couldn't protect him... " He mumbled, still shaking. The floodgates finally breaking, the tears burning as they rolled down his face.

"Keith, snap out of it!" The blue vixen pulled the human up to his feet and slapped his a couple times across the face. His eyes were red, but the blue seemed to pop out still. Krystal seemed to glare back at him. "Moping around and crying about this mess isn't going to help find him! Do you seriously want Marcus to know that all you did while he was kidnapped was that you laid in bed crying?!" Keith was in utter shock about the change in nature Krystal went through.

"N-No..." He whimpered.

"Now wipe the tears and get your gear, we're going to hunt for my son."

"Yes Ma'am." She smiled to watch the human begin gathering a couple things and wipe off his face. She began to call her husband to let him known about the kidnapping.

"Honey, Marcus has been kidnapped... What?!"

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><p>Marcus took in a deep breath. It had seemed like an hour had passed from waking up, he was sure that the tranquilizer wore off and he was free to move his body. Though free isn't exactly the good word here on the account of the ropes binding his hands and feet. Using the wall behind him for a bit of leverage, the fox got up from a seated position to leaning against the wall at full height. He stared at the low tables he saw the locksmith equipment on, wondering why they were so low that he could see them when he woke up. The fox tossed the thought out of his head as he focused on his shaky first steps. Though it was more as hoping to the table. Unfortunately, after the third hop, the fox lost his footing and tumbled over, hitting his face against the tools on the table. Feeling a sting under his left eye. Marcus was certain that he was bleeding, but immediately searched for the cause of the cut.<p>

Along with the many tools was a scalpel. Wondering why a surgeon's scalpel was doing with locksmith tools, the fox began to question this whole ordeal. Grabbing onto the handle of the scalpel with his teeth, Marcus brought his tied paws up towards the blade. Being a surgeon scalpel, the blade cut through the rope easily, allowing the fox to use his hands freely.

Using the same scalpel, Marcus cut off the rest of the ropes. He scanned through the tools and took a couple pins with him, knowing full well how to pick locks open. Though after leaving the previous room, he found himself staring at a cloaked figure.

"Who are you?" He growled at him. The figure wore a mask over his head and kept silent, Marcus brought his fists up and glared at him. A chuckle came from the figure.

"No hello? Things never change, eh Blue?" Shocked filled his mind, hearing his nickname that only one person knew.

"Luke!? What the hell, man!" The figure took of the mask to be the same childhood friend. He smiled and walked up to Marcus.

"I had to that, but don't worry, we didn't do anything more than this." He gave the fox a hug, in which he returned.

"But why?" He looked at the wolf with a confused look.

"Our old timers thought it would be a way to test our skills so far, me kidnapping you successfully and you escaping." Marcus' eyes widened at the thought that his father intentionally put this on him. "C'mon, I'll take you back to your dorm." The wolf opened another door and led the fox back to his ride.

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><p>An hour later, Marcus was back in his dorm, along with Luke, Keith and his mother. At the moment, the boys were sitting on the bed while Krystal began ranting off about Fox choosing to go through with this test of strength without so much as telling her.<p>

"I can't believe your father would put you through that! I was worried sick, and so was Keith! I swear he never considers the actual consequences for some things and rather face the problem when it approaches rather than planning ahead and resolving everything." She went on, upon mentioning the sad state Keith was in, the human suppressed a blush and laughed awkwardly. Luke on the other hand was completely zoned out, having lost interest in the whole one-sided conversation the moment it began. Marcus was somewhat ok with today's events. He made a new friend and got to see his old one.

"Well, I better go and put your father in the doghouse, bye sweety." Being the mother she is, Krystal gave a kiss on her son's forehead, allowing the wolf to tease him at the embarrassment he was suffering. Keith on the other hand was glaring at Luke. The guy seemed off, like he was having too much fun teasing Marcus.

"So how have you been, Luke?" The fox asked. Keith stayed alert and paid attention to all the wolf's actions.

"I'm been great, my skills have improved and my old man's proud of me. But for some reason, he wants me to enroll here."

"Wait, why?" The wolf shrugged.

"I don't know, all I know is, I picked up on flight techniques they don't teach here." Luke began to brag a bit. Keith sighed, realizing that he was no longer in the conversation. By the time the two finished catching up, it was time for them to go to bed. Keith just wrapped himself under his covers and turned his back towards the fox. Thinking he was already asleep, Marcus didn't say goodnight to his roommate and fell back into his bed.

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><p><strong>Hope I made up with that twist! And entertained a couple people.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: New Living Conditions

**Oh the fun I'm gonna have with Luke in the picture... Mwhahahaha!**

**Disclaimer: *eating raviolis* I'm eating, I have no time for a disclaimer!**

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><p>The human sighed as he woke up the morning. Keith rubbed his head as he sat up in his bed, feeling emotionally exhausted from yesterday's misunderstanding. He didn't know whether he wanted to punch Fox in the face or give him a nod of approval. Frankly the idea of live action test for Marcus' skills was brilliant, but the blue fox is still just 17. Even if Marcus was able to handle himself like Krystal said he would, a kid shouldn't have to deal with being kidnapped, let alone being bullied by adults. <em>'Oh shit.'<em>

Realizing that Krystal was with him for most of the day, he completely forgotten her telepathic abilities. And after breaking down in front of her, most of his mental walls might've been broken as well, letting the vixen read his thoughts like an open book. _'What if she found out about the bullying?'_

His mind contemplated of the possibilities, eventually giving the human a headache. Getting up to get dressed for the day and make himself some coffee. After pulling on his jeans, a loud banging accompanied with a just as loud voice boomed.

"Wakey-wakey sleepy heads!" Keith dreaded that voice, the one person he did want to meet at first, yet regretted ever since last night's events. The commotion caused the fox to stir in his sleep, sitting up in his bed and rubbing the leftover sleep still in his eyes. Though Keith smiled, remembering that he locks the door every night.

"Is that Luke...?" Marcus asked, still half asleep. The fox looked at the door to see it open, shocking the human.

"What the hell, I locked that door!" Keith complained out loud. The wolf had a toothy grin as he ran a hand through his dyed black hair.

"You call that a lock? Took me a second to open it." Luke looked over at the drowsy fox, his smile softening. "How ya feeling today buddy?" _That's my line!'_

"Good, so why are you here so early in the morning?" Marcus wondered about the circumstances, either way he was happy he was here.

"Like I said yesterday, my old man wants me to attend the academy for some reason. So I figured the sooner I suffer through this, the sooner I can graduate." Keith took in a sip of his freshly brewed coffee and wondered for a second.

"What classes are yew takin'?"

"Just Mechanics. I'm skilled as a pilot and in combat already, but I really need to learn how to take fix up my own Arwing and weapons." The wolf stared off to the side. "I kinda got OCD, sometimes I have to take apart things and put them back together, I figured I might as well learn to do it the right way."

"Aww man, you won't be in any of my classes..." Marcus whined.

"But he'll be in mine..." The human muttered, wondering if he could deal with this arrangement. Marcus began to stretch in his bed and soon got up to change into his normal attire. The fox took a warm mug of coffee and yawned a bit, grogginess still in his eyes.

"You were always a late riser." Luke commented. Marcus waved him off and drank his coffee.

"Whatever, so where's your room in the dorm?"

"I'm not staying at the dorm, got my own place about a mile from campus, way better than this cramped up box." It was a minor insult towards the dorms, but it was a true insult. The room barely had any space aside from the kitchen area, everything else was cramped. Even the bathroom seemed small. The fox gave a playful punch to the wolf's arm.

"Lucky." Luke rubbed his arm and pretended to act hurt. He began to laugh afterwards.

"Yeah, this place is tiny compared to my place, though it's a bit too big..." His voice carried off, sounding like he was leading the conversation into something bigger. "There's so much room, all my stuff barely decorates a corner of it, but maybe if I had some roommates..."

"We would love to move in with you!" Keith did the classic spit take with his coffee.

"We?!"

"C'mon Keith, it's gotta be way better than this place! And I haven't seen Luke in years, this could be a way for us to catch up." Marcus began pleading with puppy eyes that made the human's heart melt.

"Dammit, I can't say no ta that face... Fine." Keith sighed as the fox began to celebrate. "We'll start gettin' our things ready now an' take over after classes, that ok with ya, Luke?"

"Sure, fine by me, Red." The human rolled his eyes at the use of a nickname from the wolf. "I nickname all my friends, don't be like that."

Keith began to wonder about this wolf. If he already treats him like a friend, does that make him trustworthy? Having enough with all the constant thinking, the human looked at the clock.

"Crap, no time, we need to get to class in a couple minutes... Luke, we have to walk Marcus to his classroom, if anyone tries giving him a hard time, don't hesitate to knock 'em out." Keith briefed to their new roommate.

"Don't have to tell me, I would do it anyways, I've been doing that for years." For once, Keith smiled at the wolf.

"Good, now c'mon." He walked out the door, the other two following him. _'Maybe he's not so bad.'_

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><p>Today seemed like a great day so far, no one tried to pick on Marcus and they made it to his classroom without any stones thrown at them. Maybe it was because the fox had a scruffy human with scars all over his face and an intimidating wolf by his side the whole time. Though it was a bit awkward after Marcus was gone, the human knew little to nothing about Luke.<p>

"So... got any siblings?" The wolf asked, breaking the unbearable silence between them.

"Uh yeah, I got an older brother named Paul and mah younger brother Roy. Paul's a business man an' Roy's still a junior in high school." The wolf nodded.

"How old are you guys?"

"Paul is 38, I'm 25, and Roy just turned 17 last month. What about yew, I'm guessin' around 17 like Marcus."

"I'm actually 19, I always look younger." The human looked more closely at Luke. The age would explain how they were close at height, and his big build.

After their small chat, the two made it to their Mechanic's class, he even explained that you can graduate Mechanics with just a year of learning, the choice was in the students if they wanted to stay for the full three years. Helping the wolf out, Keith showed him all the proper tools he needed while explaining their purposes and uses. He could tell how bad Luke's OCD was after watching him twitch a bit picking up a tool kit and inspecting all the sockets and wrenches. Arranging them in a more proper order that fit to the wolf's liking.

"Do yew always have ta do that?"

"Only for the first time, or if it gets messy again." Luke replied after closing up the tool kit. "There, done."

"Hate to tell ya this, but Imma need an open end wrench from there." The wolf sighed and hung his head low as he passed the kit to Keith.

"Thanks, and sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine, at least my OCD keeps my room neat and clean." As Keith loosened some bolts, he found it hard to believe that Luke kept a neat and tidy room.

The rest of the day went by fast, Luke was adjusting well to the disassembly of an Arwing, not counting the little fits he would have about how Keith would leave his tools lying around when he was done with them.

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><p>As the fox made his way out the door, he was sandwhiched between both his friends. Luke and Keith acting as his bodyguards. Yet in the back of his mind, he found it kinda funny how they seemed to act the same. Keith on the other hand still felt a little suspicious about Luke still. He just couldn't put his finger on what he's hiding. Luke though saw the human as just another person, nothing more nothing less.<p>

After gathering what little belongings they had in the dorm and placing it all in Keith's car (that's how little stuff they had) and drove off to the wolf's new home. The whole house looked brand new, even from the outside. The interior was just as new looking. And just as Luke said, the house still looked empty despite a few furniture and decorations. It needed more flavor to get rid of it's bland style, it needed clashing and blending styles that only other people could offer.

"Damn, this place is nice." The human began walking up a set of stairs to find five doorways. Finding a Star Wolf logo on one of them, he assumed that was Luke's room... And possibly the master bedroom.

"Ey, Luke! Which room should we take?" He called down to the wolf.

"Any but the one with Star Wolf's emblem and the one across from it!" He yelled back.

"But not the one across from it...?" Again, Keith was suspicious. What was in that room? Turning back towards the hall to decide on the room, he saw the marked door open. Coming out of that room, was none other than the leader of Star Wolf, Luke's adopted father, Wolf O'Donnel.

"What's with the yelling?!" He barked and looked at the human. Marcus ran up the stairs with his friend closely behind to see Keith staring down Wolf.

"You're dad is living here with you?" The fox asked his friend.

"How do you think I managed to afford this place?"

"Oh, you're the roommates he's been talking about." Wolf crossed his arms and stared closely at Marcus. His one good eye showing a glint of sadness in it. "You're McCloud's kid aren't you?"

Marcus gulped before answering, being in the same room as your father's rival was unnerving, but now living with him was just plain awkward. Then again, he didn't mind all those years babysitting when he was younger, maybe Wolf will be like that, kind and caring...

"Yes sir..." He nodded, Wolf turned around, having his back towards them.

"Good to know, but there's going to be a set of rules for living under my roof." All three stood straight, feeling like trained dogs. "Rule number one, no booze of any kind, I'm not letting a fraternity party go off in my home. Rule Two, no late night visitors of any kind, that's what cars were made for." Luke couldn't help but laugh at the inputted comment. "Rule Three, no parties, I'm not cleaning up after that mess. And the last rule, try not to piss me off." With his brief list of house rules over, Wolf proceeded back into his bedroom.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention him earlier, I didn't want to scare you guys off." Luke apologized.

"It's 'kay, he doesn't seem that bad." _'First Marcus, then Krystal and now I met Wolf. Wonder when I'll meet Fox.'_

"I'm going to have to call my parents and let them know about this." Marcus pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his contacts. Both Keith and Luke were a bit worried that they wouldn't allow it. "Mom, I need to tell you and dad something... Luke is giving us a place to stay at his large home, but his dad is actually living here too... Alright, I'll pass him the phone." Marcus sighed as he approached the marked door. He could already feel the scolding he might get from the older lupine. Taking in a deep breath, the fox knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Wolf called from inside the bedroom.

"My parents would like a word with you." Marcus answered, putting his phone in the paws of Wolf the second he opened the door.

"Hello? Don't worry, I've already warned them to behave... And what makes you think I'm going to be throwing the parties? Exactly, you don't. I make sure Luke stays out of trouble outside of missions, so of course I expect the same from the other two. Alright, bye." Wolf hung up the phone and tossed it back at Marcus, who was caught off guard and had to fumble to save his phone from dropping. "They said it's fine, as long as no one in this house does anything illegal." With that said he shut his door.

The fox stared over at his friends and smiled a bit, though it was a strange forced smile. The kind where you shrug and keep an unsure face.

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><p><strong>So sorry I didn't get this out as fast. I had a little bit of trouble with my connection. I was almost done like two days ago, but I lost internet for a while, luckily what I had to finish wasn't that much. Hope I didn't kill someone with this slow update.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Music and Dreams

**I love doing twists. Just the reactions from some people is what satisfies me... Anyways, hope ya enjoy today's chapter.**

**Disclaimer: HELP ME GET THE RIGHTS TO STARFOX, I WILL MAKE SEQUELS TO IT AND NEVER STOP!**

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><p>The shock of living with the infamous leader of Star Wolf was still fresh in the human's mind. Though of course it was fresh seeing as only an hour passed since then. Keith and Marcus had finished setting up their rooms and now was relaxing on the couch, finding nothing to do with the spare time on their hands.<p>

"Ok, it is way to fucking quiet in here, what the hell are you kids doing?" Wolf trudged down the steps and looked over at the two.

"Wait... so we're not makin' any noise, and yew get suspicious?" The human found a bit of an error in his logic.

"At least I'll know you all are alive if I hear some racket." The older lupine rationalize. "Besides, I saw that guitar you had and wondered if you actually knew how to play it or were just one of those douches that carries a guitar just to pick up chicks. Seems to be the last one."

With the tone he had, there was no way Keith was going to sit there and take it. But he couldn't exactly get up and punch him in the face and maybe kick him a couple times. There was a teenager in the room, and violence would warp his fragile little mind.

"I actually do know how ta play it, I was just thinkin' that yew didn't want a ton of noise goin' on." The human replied, trying his best to calm himself. Truth be told, he actually hated the kind of guys that only know two to three chords max and say they're a guitarist. Especially when they also go the extra mile and add singing in when they have horrible voices and lyrics with little to no thought put into them.

"Huh, alright then, why don't ya play me a song." Wolf was provoking him at this point, though Keith didn't understand why he was doing it, but he did want to prove to him that he wasn't a generic douchebag with a guitar. Marcus just awkwardly sat right by his friend's side. After the phone call, he was too scared to say anything. He didn't want to spill any bad blood with him, so best way of staying out of trouble is to not do anything. He watched as Keith walked up the stairs and later came back down with his still unnamed guitar, while dragging a small amp.

"This lil' song comes from a place called Japan." He stated as he plugged in both the amp and guitar. He played and just like before, it sounded unique and the blue fox couldn't exactly put where the song was originally from. Though he did get an answer from Keith's intro. _'So he plays some music from Japan... That's awesome.'_

Wolf listened, face remaining blank and unreadable. Though the wolf was slightly tapping his foot to the rhythm and beat. But eventually at the end he smiled, though it was more of a twisted smile, like if he just spit on a puppy and kicked it through a goal.

"Not bad... But let me ask you this, how is a man with a southern accent playing foreign music? Would've figured that you would play some country on me." The older lupine wondered, not aware of his adopted son standing right behind him.

"I was wondering that too." The fox added, looking over to see Luke waiting for his father to turn around.

"Well, I have my lil' brother to thank for that. He watches and reads a lot of anime and manga, he eventually found a certain manga that had songs fer it and he developed an addiction to it... The addiction is contagious though." Keith scratched the back of his head. "That song was called Shounen Brave, or Brave Boy."

"Can I hear the song?" Marcus asked, he was a lover of all music, and he honestly wanted to listen to it. Luke's eyes brighten up and found this moment to let his presence be known. The young lupine began to searching the song on his phone and immediately found it as the first result.

"I think I found it, it comes with subtitles." Wolf sighed, thinking that he son actually thought his stealth was good enough to get passed him. Truth be told, he was wondering why he was standing behind him. Everyone but the human crowded around Luke to watch the video, apparently all the songs came with a music video to go along with.

"Are the guy and the boy the same person?" Marcus asked. Keith smiled and listened to the song.

"Yeah, that's Seto." After a couple moments he could tell they got confused after a certain moment and possibly beyond the rest of the song.

"I don't really get it, I mean I know that the kid was bullied, but why did he run away. What was with the stealing of thoughts?" Luke tilted his head in confusion and felt that he needed a second run through of the video to understand it.

"I'll gladly explain it. Ya see, in the song series, everyone developed an eye power that resembled what they wanted most in life. Seto was bullied and was always picked on, he always wanted a friend, but most people would always hate him. When he met the dog in the video, he said he wanted to become friends without saying words. And that's when he got his eye power." He stopped to gauge their reactions. So far Marcus was inching closer to him in interest, Luke looked a bit bored , and Wolf just stayed his stoic self. The human took a breath of air before continuing. "His power was being able to steal the thoughts of others with a just a glance. He was finally able to understand the dog, but not just the dog. He heard the thoughts of everyone around him, hearin' every hateful word they would want to say to him. It was breaking his heart and he couldn't avoid hearing them. He ended up escaping away from the city into the forest to avoid hearing them. Though he had a bit of trouble with nature he eventually found that log cabin with Mary in it."

"Who's Mary?" The young lupine asked.

"That white haired girl that looks like Alice in Wonderland and most generic Disney princesses. She's a descendant of a Medusa and is actually 140 years old, she's also a fujoshi."

"What's that?"

"I-It's uh... Movin' on!" Keith felt the need to change the subject away from the girl that loves reading yaoi. "Seto finds Mary and she's crying about being lonely and fed up with staying in the cabin. So Seto's logic kicking in, when someone's crying he tells them to shut up and listen to music." Though that was left out in that video, it was shown in Mary's. "He also tells her not to be afraid and all that mush and Seto finally learns to suppress his eye power, learning that Bravery is what he needed to overcome it."

"Wow..." The blue fox seemed a bit moved by it. Though the father and son didn't seem fazed.

"I don't really see how it was a good story, but the song is good, I'll give ya that." Wolf showed a bit of a more relaxed side.

"I kinda have a connection with Seto... Back on Earth I always wanted to speak to animals. Glad I got the chance to travel across the galaxy to live in Corneria." He chuckled a bit with a slight red tint on his cheeks. The older lupine stretched and walked up the stairs.

"I've had enough stories for the day, I'm going to take a nap, don't hesitate to make some noise, I need a bit of ambient sound to sleep." Luke took the moment to jump into a seating position on the couch and relax.

"So you're saying you have a thing for us animals?" He grinned closing his eyes with a smug look. The human's cheeks turned a brighter red.

"Ey, shatup! Don't argue with my tastes, and I won't with yew!" Even Marcus started laughing at the frustrated human.

"That explains Eleanor."

"Not yew too Marcus!"

The two old time friends laughed at the embarrassment of the human, though he was a bit glad to get that off his chest.

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><p>The fox smiled as he fell onto his bed, today was an eventful day, but he liked it. He felt a bit lonely having a room to himself. He would miss hearing the soft snores from Keith, even hearing getting up and waking him up. Sometimes waking up before him and watching him rise and dress. Seeing the many scars and his muscles. After realizing what he just thought of, Marcus' breathing became slow and he stared blankly at the ceiling.<p>

"Did I just say I'll miss seeing his muscles... What's wrong with me?" He felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he attempted to solve this strange feeling. Eventually he used his universal solution, listening to music to drowning out all thoughts as he drifted to sleep.

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><p><em>Marcus opened his eyes to see a nice forest scenery in front of him. He found himself sitting on a log staring at the foliage. He realized it was a dream and stayed calm. He always loved being able to witness his dreams and tend to oversleep due to them. He waited for something interesting to happen. Eventually he felt a warm breath on his neck. Chills went down his spine, somehow feeling vulnerable was an exhilarating sensation to him. Eventually wandering hands were added to the breath. Looking at the hands that were holding him, he caught glimpses of gray fur.<em>

_"Luke!?" As soon as he turned his head, he caught a flash of the familiar light blue eyes just before the dream faded away to reality._

"Marcus, wake up!" Luke shouted to hopefully awaken his sleeping friend.

"Whuzzat what!?" He sputtered, still shocked about what he witnessed. "Oh... hey."

"You ok, you were moving around a lot."

"Um... never better." The fox lied, the young lupine shrugged and walked out. Before getting out of the bed, Marcus looked down and covered his face.

"I'm thinking of my friend and dreaming about my best friend, what the hell is wrong with me?"

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><p><strong>And so it begins. Sorry about the whole music thing taking up a large portion of the chapter. I couldn't really see Keith playing any other song. Plus, it was a conversation starter for them. Marcus was even speaking before that. Ah how I love writing this stuff. And I seriously hate the whole douchebags and guitars things! I see a guy playing two chords, I go up to them and say "why don'tcha try playing a song with those three chords." Ugh... Sorry, my hate for posers goes far beyond the world.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Party Planning

***deep sigh* I've had enough with the guy flaming. I know I take off his reviews, but I just need to say one thing to him. I promise, no long rants... Just one damn statement.**

**Do you really hate this story that much? Because looking at how your reviews are on different chapters, the last one being on the last chapter, that means you're actually reading it. And here you are hating and calling it stupid. News flash buddy, you're reading it, and doesn't matter if you hate it or not. You're just giving me more reads. *claps sarcastically* And I would like to add that there was a clear warning on the summary, so you disregarded that just to read the story. Meaning that you are possibly a closet homosexual that deep down likes this story, but because of the way your were raised, you often get frustrated at yourself and end up using that frustration to write hateful reviews towards me. And I can predict you defending your supposed heterosexuality right now. Now you possibly just yelled a string of obscenities towards me. And now reading through the chapter at a hasty pace just to get caught up with the story and flame yet again. So see ya at the bottom! **

**Disclaimer: I feel evil after that little note. Maybe I'll steal the rights to Starfox later...**

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><p>Marcus couldn't focus. The shock from the morning was still eating at his mind. No matter how many times he tried to rationalize what he was feeling, he couldn't find a good reason. Years of learning psychology were going down the train as he was trying to understand it. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he never realized the end of class had come so quickly. He sighed, knowing that he just missed important details from a lecture.<p>

The blue fox walked out the door and as usual, his personal bodyguards were there to escort him. Though he wanted distance from them. Just being around either one of them made him feel uneasy.

"So what do yew guys wanna do today?" Keith asked, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Luke had a very unnaturally wide smile.

"No one's at the house right now, old man is out on a mission with his buddies..." His voice trailed off again, the same way when he convinced the two to move in with him. Learning from the past, Keith kept a watchful eye on him. Making sure to pay attention to any catch or fine print at what he may be suggesting.

"Why don't we party, huh?" If looks could kill, Keith would've nuked the whole planet with his stare.

"Absolutely not, Wolf said no throwin' parties!" The human yelled, the young lupine grinned and placed his hands on his hips.

"Who said we couldn't go to one?" Luke's statement caused the human to shut up, but he still held a bit of anger towards him. "What do ya think Marcus, wanna go to a party with me?"

The fox was a bit nervous being put on the spot. He honestly did want to go to at least one party in his life, but he didn't want to abandoned Keith. Then again, maybe being lost in a crowd could be his way of avoiding both of them.

"I'm not letting yew take him to get drunk and knocked out."

"Then we'll keep an eye on him, at least let him see what it's like to be wild." The human and lupine went back and forth with the argument. Leaving Marcus to stand awkwardly to the side.

"He's too young, I don't wanna expose him to that stuff!"

"You're never too young to party!" Eventually the fox couldn't take the constant bickering anymore.

"STOP! I'll go, okay?" Upon hearing that his best friend took his side, Luke jumped and cheered. "But like Keith said, I need someone to keep me away from trouble, I don't know what to expect, but I'm pretty sure both of you do."

"Are ya sure about this, Marcus?" Keith looked a bit disappointed at him, but deep down he knew the teenager would try to rebel and go against him if he tried keeping him away from the party.

Marcus gave a nod back, making the human sigh.

"Do yew even know where a party is?" Keith asked Luke, getting a cheeky smile back from him and a chuckle.

"My name is Luke C. O'Donnel, I can smell a party before the people even think about throwing it." The human sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Might as well head home and get ready fer it..." Though it was off topic, he couldn't help but wonder what the C stood for.

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><p>Back in their large Manor, the three began getting ready for the bash that only the lupine knew about. So mostly Keith and Marcus we're left wondering what would actually happen at it.<p>

The human was hoping that it wasn't a wild Frat party, he did not want the fox to be surrounded by any tormenters that would be too drunk to care if he was a kid or not. He sighed for the millionth time that day and put on a white t-shirt with a dark blue dress shirt over. He took his time rolling up his sleeves and kept on his blue jeans and boots. He walked out of the his room and sat on the couch downstairs. Sighing yet again as he ran a hand through his messy red locks.

"Whoohoo!" He felt a headache approach when he saw that Luke jumped down the stairs and somersaulted to avoid any injury from the fall. He smiled as he dusted his clothes off and jumped onto the couch next to Keith. He was wearing a dark green hoodie that he left open with a black V-neck under. Revealing a black beaded necklace that appeared to be more of a choker than necklace. He saw that the hoodie's sleeves ended before his wrists to put on display a set of barbwire bracelets. The lupine even added a chain to his black skinny jeans, honestly Luke looked more of a rocker than punk.

The two didn't say a word to each other and waited patiently for the third to come down. After a minute or so, the lupine got impatient.

"Dammit, I'm going up there and helping him."

"I tried, he locked the door." The human informed him, earlier he wanted to help the fox only to find that he locked himself in. Luke smiled.

"Dude, I have a key to every door in the form of a skill." As much as the human hated to admit it, lock picking was the only thing good so far about the lupine. Said person began to run up the stairs and made his way to Marcus' door. "Marcus, I'm coming in." Without waiting for a response, Luke easily opened the door. Having given himself a head start before giving the actual warning.

"What the hell, I locked that door!" The fox yelled looking at the opened doorway with his best friend standing in it.

"No door is safe from me. But hurry your ass up, we've been waiting forever." Luke took a moment to look around in the room and felt his ear twitch a bit, feeling an OCD outburst coming. "Dammit, did you have to put all the clothes in that order!?" He walked over to the bed with many outfits scattered on it. He began folding most of them and putting them in specific placements.

"Sorry, I can't think of what to wear..." The fox looked at the ground, feeling more embarrassed for taking so long.

"Just wear something that's comfortable but a little showy, but not too much, you have to have balance." The lupine picked up a black jacket along with a red t-shirt. "Maybe some dark pants to match, even your yellow scarf to fit all together. The red and yellow blend while pooping with the black as a border, it also gives you a great way to show off that natural white hair." Luke shoved all the clothes he picked out and shoved them in Marcus' arms.

Though after getting the clothes, he just stared at him.

"What?"

"Can you get out so I can change?" He felt a awkward having to say it. Luke crossed his arms and deadpanned.

"You gotta be shitting me, kid."

"No, get out please!" Marcus tries to hide his embarrassment, but Luke laughed as he walked out.

"Fine, fine. Just don't take too long this time." The fox sighed in relief. He didn't mind changing in front of people before, but the thoughts were eating at him so much, he felt his heart race at the thought of having someone see him while he changed. After closing the door. which Luke was apparently too lazy to close on his way out, the fox quickly switched outfits. He checked himself in the mirror and actually liked the results. The way all his features stood out just with simple color coordination. He made his way downstairs and meet up with the others.

"Damn Marcus, ya actually look handsome." For some reason the compliment made Marcus blush a bit.

"Thanks, you guys look great too."

"Enough with the compliments, we got a party to crash!" Luke got up and made his way to the front door. The others following his lead. Marcus couldn't help but feel nervous. He was scared for what would happened if they got caught. What would Wolf do as punishment? Thoughts of torture began playing through his mind. He could only wonder of this party would be worth the punishment later.

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><p><strong>I just had to set the party thing up. It is by law that when a parentguardian forbids a party, the teenagers must go to one anyways. And I soon predict that the flamer is going to deny falling for all the tricks I put up above and call me an idiot. Hey, can't blame me for trying to have a little fun with ya! just because you hate me, doesn't mean I can't twist your words and have a laugh later. So just know, I'm actually smiling my famous Vulpine Grin right now. Anything you say can and will be used as comedy later. Have a nice day!**


	11. Chapter 11: Luck

***laughing hysterically at a review and quickly deletes it* Aw c'mon flamer. Or should I address you by what you put as your name this time, Deathtogays... Seriously, not even any other new comebacks. Just the same things again, not even any hint of denial against what I said. Well, I think I've had my fun with ya, I promise not to breathe a word about you as long as you leave and never flame again. It's kinda pointless, I just take them down, and I actually laugh my ass off every time I see it.**

**Disclaimer: I can't think of a disclaimer, but I will take the time to say I'm proud of myself for not making a single Barrel Roll joke in this entire story... Ah shit, I just did...**

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><p>The fox stared at the car window and sighed as the loud music was slowly increasing in volume. To Keith's dismay, Luke was right about a party being held nearby, and from the loud ambient music that was blaring in there ears, it was in full swing. The human parked his Charger at a good distance from the house hosting the party and exited the vehicle. His roommates following suit and looked at the illuminated household. It was bright compared to the orange sky surrounding it.<p>

"There she is boys, the bash I smelled a week ago." The young lupine smiled and stuffed his paws into his pockets and walked casually. The human sighed and looked over at Marcus.

"Ya still sure yew wanna go through with this?" The blue fox nodded his head and smiled.

"Yeah, c'mon Keith, lighten up. It's not like I'm going to act wild, I'm just going to watch and stay out of trouble." Keith couldn't help but return the warm look and put on his own grin.

"Alright, but promise me ya won't purposely get into any trouble." Marcus gave him a firm nod.

"I promise." With the deal being made, the two caught up with the third and crashed the party.

It was what you would expect a party to be like. People yelling random phrases to each other over the loud music, couples making out, few dancing, and booze, lots and lots of booze. Keith looked over at Luke to see he already had a cup in his hand. The human deadpanned and slapped it out of his paws, not caring about the mess he just made. He was crashing a party, didn't matter what messes he made, wasn't his to clean up.

"Hey, that was soda!" The lupine yelled at him.

"Somethin' tells me it was spiked." Luke laughed awkwardly and stepped to the side. Realizing a good tip, he turned to Marcus. "If anyone offers yew a soda, don't drink it, unless it's from a can and it's not opened."

"Alright, thanks." The fox stayed close to both his friends in the large living room, afraid of getting lost in the crowd. Although he wanted to stay away from both his roommates to keep the strange feelings at bay.

"A lot of cute girls around, don'tcha agree Keith?" Luke gestured to the many varieties of women in the room. Keith scoffed at that.

"It's just a bunch of sluts, they don't care who they screw, they just want to hook up." The human forgot that Marcus was standing next to him, which he felt bad for speaking like that in front of him. Then again, it was way worse than what the partygoers were screaming.

"Think I'll get lucky?" Luke grinned widely, looking at him in the eyes. The light blue full of deceive.

"Not in mah car you won't!" He remembered back to Wolf's earlier rule about late night guests. The lupine burst into laughter and patted the human on the shoulder.

"Alright, I'll give ya that one." Keith didn't seem to understand Luke at all, there were some moments that he was liking him and friends, then the moments were he wants nothing more than to knock him upside the head with a Crescent Wrench. The guy bordered between the good and the bad. "But I'm gonna go and see if I can." He waved as he walked off. Immediately putting himself between two women. The human couldn't help but put on his goofy grin, he didn't even know why he was smiling. Maybe it was the fact that Luke can be really dimwitted that it's enjoyable to watch.

"Keith, why is Luke talking to those girls?" The fox felt embarrassed to ask, Keith began to realize that Marcus may have never been told about 'The Talk'.

"Um... Uh... Ask yer Mother!" For some reason, he felt like he was a father dodging questions. Which was weird seeing as he was nowhere near a father figure to him.

"O-Ok?" Marcus directed his attention back to his best friend, seeing him mingle with the ladies. His smile getting wider as the women laughed. He didn't get why he was still doing this, but he must be happy. "Crap, I need to go find the bathroom." Marcus felt nature calling him.

"Ya want me to go with yew?" The fox had a blank expression as he stared at the human. "Right, ya need yur privacy." Marcus smiled at his understanding and walked off, trying to find a bathroom. _'Dammit, I might be a creep in his eyes now...' _The human sighed as he felt bad for his little mistake.

He glanced at the table to see the vast assortment of alcohol they had. He shook his head, feeling that he needed to stay sober in order to get everyone home safely. No way he was getting behind the wheel drunk.

The blue fox nearly cried in happiness when he finally found the bathroom. He was honestly losing his sanity being shoved around in the crowd, so far he didn't like parties. Too much yelling to actually enjoy the music, which was too loud for his pleasure and he wasn't really a fan of generic dubstep music. He relieved himself of his small bladder and quickly washed up, taking a second to admire the lupine's choice in his attire. Luke really knew what made his features pop.

After a little splash of water to his face to help keep him sane, Marcus made his way out into the chaos again. He struggled to get through the crowd and bumped into a familiar face.

"Aren't you Keith's roommate, the McCloud kid?" He noticed that it was the panther girl, Keith's old ex girlfriend.

"Uh, Yeah... Eleanor, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying my first party..." He felt bad having a conversation with his friends ex. And a bit awkward since they barely knew each other, hell they only met once and for about half an hour.

"So, is Keith here... with you?" She put on a concern face. _'Crap! I don't want to lie, but I don't want to put Keith in that position... What do I do!?'_

Marcus scratched the back of his neck and looked to the left. "Um... Yeah." _'Fuck my good heart.'_

The panther girl's face brighten up and she smiled. "Can you take me to him?"

"Uh, sure..." He kept cursing at himself mentally. He hoped the human could find it in his heart to forgive him later. He lead the way, purposely slowing down to delay the meet. But he couldn't delay any longer, eventually she caught sight of the redhead and rushed to him, leaving Marcus behind in the dust.

"Keith!" She squealed, said human was shocked to see Eleanor, but hid his true emotions by putting on a forced smile.

"Hey Eleanor, been a while..." He gulped as he tried to find a way to escape, but she already had a death grip on his hand. "How ya been?"

"Great, Striker is being a bit more calm these days, and I have some great news!" He was glad to hear that her brother was in better spirits, but he almost feared the news.

"He's letting me get back together with you!" She hooked her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the lips. Keith was taken back by the shock and sudden lip lock. He almost didn't return it and felt his world crush a bit. Though, he was thankful for it, maybe this will keep his mind away from Marcus. The blue fox however saw the makeup for the two and felt a bit.. jealous. But he was also wrapped in sadness, like some hope he had was crushed. He sighed and looked over the room to see Luke with his arms wrapped around more women, face flushed a slight pink from a beer blush.

He was left by himself, no one to speak or keep him company for the whole night. It was like he was alone again.

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><p>"Dammit, why did yew have to get drunk, Luke?" Keith asked as he helped carry him to the car.<p>

"Because it was a party, and ya have to..." He slurred, but kept a smile. They finally made it to Keith's Charger and shoved the drunk lupine in the backseat. Marcus took his place in the front and stared out the window as the human drove back home.

"So you and Eleanor are back together?" Marcus asked, face still directed to the night sky.

"Uh, yeah..." The human felt his face flush a bit red from mere mention of the panther girl. The rest of the ride was silent, minus the strange giggles Luke was suppressing. It was weird seeing the lupine like this, but a bit funny at the same time. Eventually they made it back to the Manor and hoped that Wolf wasn't back yet. Though the second they tried getting Luke up the stairs, the lights flashed on and a blaster fire nearly missed Keith's head.

"What the hell!?"

"It was a warning shot set on stun, don't worry. Now answer me this, where were you three tonight?" He stood right by the couch, but not alone. Standing to each side of him was the other members of Star Wolf, Leon and Panther.

"Uh... we were... uh reading?" Marcus wanted to shot himself for making such an obvious lie.

"Bullshit, Luke's drunk." He grinned seeing his adopted son struggling to stay awake and upright.

"Alright, we went to a party!" Keith yelled, feeling that anger might help get them off somehow. Obviously doing things nicely in this household doesn't get things done.

"Well, next time run it by me, but your not off the hook." The older lupine pointed at Marcus.

"Leon, make sure he doesn't run, and Panther, go into my room and find a bow labeled 'Luck'."

"Gladly."

"Alright." The fox broke out into a cold sweat having the chameleon stare at him, and the thought of what might be in the box was frightening him. What felt like an eternity of waiting, the feline came down with the box. Wolf opened it and pulled out an old fashioned pistol. The kind that still used actual bullets.

He spun the cylinder and handed the gun to the fox.

"Put the gun up to your temple and pull the trigger, you live and I won't tell your parents." Marcus was close to breaking out and crying on the spot. He didn't realize he feared death this much.

"Ya can't let him die!" Keith yelled, shaking as he felt that his friend was being held by a thread. Panther got behind him and held the human back.

Marcus did as instructed and placed the barrel up to his head, his fingers trembling as he gripped the trigger.

"Now pull it." He commanded, his smile never fading. The fox thought back on his life, seeing as he accomplished a lot for his age, he would have no regrets for making it this far. He pulled the trigger and heard a relieving click. That's all he heard, just a click.

"Congrats, it wasn't even loaded." Wolf took back the pistol and placed it back in the box.

"... What?!" Marcus looked at him and his crew to see them sharing a laugh.

"That outta teach you not to get in any trouble, you're lucky that I didn't buy the thing ammunition." He laughed as he made his way back upstairs, saying goodbye to his teammates. Keith and Marcus stood in silence.

"He's ok with his son breaking the law and drinking, but not me going to a party...?" The fox added, feeling a headache approaching.

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><p><strong>Yup, I'm evil. And I have to apologize to a close person to me. I was overthinking things earlier, I'm stupid. But another chapter done. Yay!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12: Rivals

**I don't know which is more shocking. The fact that Wolf was actually going to let the party slip by, aside from having Marcus nearly piss his pants, or the fact that everyone is shocked by that more than Eleanor coming back and taking claims on Keith again. Anyways, we got a new character! Thank you Anonymousreader0 for the OC. Honestly, I did want to bring in another character, but always wondered who to bring in. And I liked the character you brought up, though I am going to fill in the rest of the holes left in his design to add a bit of my own taste to flow with the story. I love using Underrated Characters, so this one goes well with who we have so far. **

**Disclaimer: *holding a random drawing of Fox* This is the only thing of Starfox that I own. I wish I had a plush or at least a figurine.**

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><p>Marcus sighed as he tried to shake off all of last night's events out of his mind. Once again, he was struggling to focus on the lesson being presented to him. That is until he heard his name being called.<p>

"Marcus McCloud, you have a visitor in the dean's office, would like to go after class since you're so busy?" The fox sighed at the use of sarcasm, he gathered his things and made his way to the dean's office. Inside he found two people sitting at the desk, one of which he recognized as the commander of the Husky and Bulldog units, Bill Grey. The other was a dark brown and white husky, his hair was short but seemed to droop over a pair of goggles he kept at his forehead.

"Good to see you Mr. McCloud, take a seat." The dean greeted, his tone staying firm and full of authority.

"Um, why is Bill Grey here, and who is he?" The blue fox asked.

"Bill is here to enroll his own son, Jacob, in here." The fox looked at the husky and noted he was an Alaskan breed, his eyes being heterochromatic. The right being a steel gray while the left was the same shade of green his father had.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Jacob looked at him and began to explain.

"Your mother asked me to enroll and become your bodyguard and partner in combat training." The blue fox froze, thinking why his mother wanted him to have a bodyguard.

"Why?"

"She found about the bullying." He simply stated. Marcus' eyes widened. _'How did she find out, I made sure to keep up mental walls... Keith!'_

"Don't worry, you're in good hands, I won't let anyone lay a finger on you." The brown husky replied.

"I already have a bodyguard, two in fact." Marcus added, he honestly didn't know why he was stating it.

"Then see this as extra insurance." Bill finally spoke. "Besides, it gives my son more experience being with another prodigy, you two can exchange tips and such."

Jacob sighed and pulled down his goggles to rest around his neck rather than his forehead. He got up and stood around two feet taller than Marcus.

"Holy crap you're big, how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen." He simply replied. _'He's taller than Keith but he's way younger!'_

"Uh cool, well I might as well show you to class. It was nice meeting you Bill." The fox made his way to the door, the young husky following on his way out.

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><p>The fox sighed as he sat back at his seat in the lecture hall, this time having the company of the husky by his side. He watched as he relaxed in his chair and seem like he was ready to take a nap.<p>

"Uh, shouldn't you pay attention?" Marcus wondered about Jacob, said husky opened his eyes and stared at him.

"Did you noticed that I just enrolled in here and already in your third year classes?" The fox didn't realize at first, but what he said was true. From what they said earlier, Jacob was first attending Cornerian Academy, that would've made him a first year freshmen. Before Marcus could answer the husky began to explain. "When I took the entrance exams, my scores were so high, they decided to bump me up and skip those two years. I'm called a prodigy for a reason."

The blue fox was left in a bit of shock. He just looked back and actually paid attention to the lecture.

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><p>Keith smiled as he just fixing up the G-Diffuser on an old Arwing. He would've gotten it done faster if Luke wasn't fighting a hangover. He chuckled as he heard another groan from the young lupine after the sound of cluttering metal reached his ears.<p>

"That's what ya get fer underage drinkin'." He grinned widely as Luke glared at him.

"Whatever man, I got those chicks' numbers..."

"Did they write it down fer ya, or did they tell yew." Upon realizing that he was told them, and with the hangover making thinking unbearable, Luke cursed out loud.

"Fuuuuuuuuck! Well, at least I had no regrets... So what about you, get the number of that panther girl?" The young lupine asked, rubbing his temples.

"Actually, me and Eleanor are datin'." The human explained his relationship to Luke.

"Wow, I didn't know Marcus could actually help comfort someone." Luke added as his reply.

"Whatdaya mean?"

"He was always so pessimistic, he always thought about the bad side of things, hearing you tell me that he actually cheered you up is amazing." The human felt a bit honored to have broken Marcus' negative way of thinking, but he wondered why he was the one to break him out of it.

The two finished up their class and made their way to escort Marcus back home, they were both surprised to see a large husky standing by his side. Luke immediately growled and attempted to burn him with his glare.

"You!" They yelled at the same time, apparently sharing bad blood.

"You two know each other?" Marcus moved to be by Keith. Both could feel the tension between the two.

"He's the only person to shoot me out of the sky!" They yelled in unison and seemed to butt heads. Marcus pictured the moment, both pilots in a dogfight that ended with both going down at the same time. A bit comical if you think about it.

"I'm the top dog here, not you, Connor!"

"Really? Calling me by middle name! Well news flash, you may be the top dog, but this wolf rules the skies!" The two kept arguing, making the innocent bystanders, around watching the feud, feel awkward.

"Guys calm down, let's just go home." Marcus suggested, Jacob let his calm demeanor reappear and nodded at the fox.

"Sure, but from the promise I made to your mother, I have to room at your home."

"Fan-fucking-tastic!" Luke cried out, clapping his paws for sarcastic effect. "Why is he even here?" Marcus sighed and explained the promise made between the husky and his mother. Keith also apologized that the slip up was brought up by fearing what happened the day Marcus was kidnapped by Luke as a test.

"You're telling me I have to live with him!" The two rivals were surprisingly in sync with their outburst.

"Calm down and let's go, and no fightin' in mah car!" Keith got between them and broke them apart. Jacob and Luke stopped their bickering but glared daggers at each other the whole car ride. When they got home, the husky immediately exited the Charger and waited to be shown to his room. Before Luke could lead him into a closet, Marcus took over and brought him to the last available room in the upstairs floor.

"Thank you Marcus, I'm glad there are some people with sense living here." The young lupine's ear twitched in anger.

"Up yours, Mutt!" In an instant, the two were back to throwing insults at each other. Eventually the owner of the home came out to see the yelling, knowing that it was an unfamiliar voice.

"Who the hell are you screwing now Luke?" Wolf asked as he looked upon the dark brown husky.

"I hope you don't mind another roommate, Mr. O'Donnel. My mom is kinda forcing this one on me." Marcus explained, briefly. Wolf scratched his chin and stared at Jacob.

"Seems like an ok guy, I feel like I don't have to brief him on the house rules, but just in case. Don't do anything illegal." With that said, the Star Wolf leader returned to his room. The husky nodded and walked into his room. Luke growled before heading back to his respected room, slamming the door behind him. All that was left was Keith and Marcus standing in the hallway. Nothing but awkward silence.

It wasn't until the human's phone began to ring that Marcus realized the silence between them. Keith answered it quickly and turned his back to his friend for a moment to carry on the phone conversation.

"Hey brother, whatcha need?... Wait, he's actually going to perform? No way!" Keith began smiling even wider than usual, his excitement was causing Marcus to be a bit curious. "Of course I'll help him! When's it gonna be? Great, I'll come over and help. Bye, see ya in a bit." The human hung up and jumped while pumping his fist in the air.

"Um... You sure are happy..." The blue fox added.

"Mah little brother's gonna play his first performance, why else wouldn't I be happy?" Keith ran into his room and came back out with his guitar and amp. "Yew wanna come, I have to help him practice for his actual performance." Marcus was left a bit surprised, he didn't know that the human even had more than one sibling. Then again, he didn't know a lot of things about him, just a few things.

"Um, sure. Should we invite the others?" Keith shook his head and mouth the word 'no'.

"I heard that!" Both voices yelled, they would not stop yelling in sync ever since they met today.

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><p>"So Keith, you never told me about your brothers." Marcus started a conversation, hopefully distracting the two rivals in the backseat. So far they managed to go two blocks without strangling each other. Maybe getting to know each person in the car would help relieve tensions.<p>

"Well, I have two, mah older brother Paul, who called me. And then mah younger brother Roy. We all used to live together on Earth, but Paul saved up enough money to move across the Galaxies to live in Corneria. After the move, I enrolled in the academy, he got a better job to sustain our living conditions, and Roy's still in High School."

The fox wondered how each of his brothers would act like, and their appearance. Did they share his southern drawl, did they have the same auburn red hair?

"Glad I'm adopted, don't have to put up with other kids taking up space." Luke butted in.

"I would hate to put up with you for that many years." Jacob added, immediately getting into a glaring contest with the wolf.

"Just 'cause I'm drivin' doesn't mean I can't hurt yew guys!" Keith announced and gave the canines their fair warning.

"Stay out of this Keith, it's just between me and the mutt."

"Bring it on Connor." They growled at each other, Keith looked over at Marcus.

"Hold on tight..." As The blue fox braced himself, the human slammed on the brakes abruptly, the two rivals in the backseat lurching forward, heads connecting with the back of the front seats. "Now stop with all the damn fussin' and make up, yew can't always be at each other's necks all the time."

The young lupine pouted as he rubbed his forehead. Jacob doing the same expression but not the same action, he had hit his muzzle against the seat. They both muttered their agreements and refrained from verbally assaulting each other.

"Alright, we're here, now be on your best behaviors guys." The human parked the car and approached a moderate looking house. The others slowly followed, wondering about his family. Keith knocked on the door and waited, his guitar hung loosely on his shoulder, amp in the other hand. Marcus stood up straight upon hearing the door open. Answering the door was an older looking man with brown hair, long but still kept neatly combed.

"hey, Paul, hope ya don't mind that mah roommates came with." Keith smiled at his brother.

"It's fine... but they do look a bit familiar." Paul looked at all the three children of famous pilots.

"I'm Marcus McCloud."

"Jacob Grey."

"Name's Luke-" As he was about to continue his introduction, the husky butted in.

"Connor." The young lupine growled before letting his anger slip and continue his introduction.

"-O'Donnel." He finished, the brown haired human took a moment to recall the last names.

"Fox McCloud, Bill Grey, and Wolf O'Donnel... You're their children?" The three nodded, Paul smiling at his brother. "Come in then, Roy's in his room reading through the lyrics."

The whole group walked inside and watched Keith head for a room. The fox was curious enough to follow him and left the canines with Paul. Marcus peeked into the bedroom to see the redhead place the amp and guitar against a wall and hug who he assumed was his younger.

"Geez, I swear you got a bit taller" He chuckled as he pat his head. The young boy being around the fox's height and age. Black hair being messed up by his older brother.

"No I'm not, I'm still short..." He answered plainly, despite having a bit of a smile.

"Sorry, can't remember how ya looked last time I saw ya, anyways, what song do ya wanna play?" Marcus stayed in the doorway, watching the two interact for a bit.

"Children Record." Roy stated clearly. Keith shook his head but smiled.

"Ha, of course it's another kagerou Project song. But don't yew need a chorus for that one?" The young boy nodded, Keith turned around and finally noticed the blue fox.

"Oh hey Marcus, you willin' to sing with mah brother?" Immediately Marcus tried to weasel his way out of it.

"Uh, I'm not really much of a singer."

"It's just for a small part, I'll be doing most of the real singing, I just need people to join in at the last part." Marcus thought for a moment, he decided that saying yes wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, as long as you convince Jacob and Luke to do it with me."

"Yeah, thank yew!" The redheaded human leaped out and gave the fox a hug. The sudden contact started to make Marcus blush. his pulse raced and his body began to tense up. He took in a few shaky breaths, only inhaling on the human's scent, which he found oddly intoxicating. He wanted the moment to end quickly to put a stop to his strange emotions, but a part of him wanted it to last longer. By the time Keith broke apart the hug, he noticed the unease in the fox's face.

"Marcus, yew ok?"

"I think I ate something bad and it's now trying to come back up..." Marcus lied, Roy explained to him the location of the bathroom as the fox ran out. Inside the bathroom, the fox was trying again to figure out why he enjoyed the embrace so much. It just didn't make sense to him. He felt his head throb with a headache, the frustration causing him a migraine. Tears welled up and slowly dripped down his cheeks, matting down his fur.

"What the fuck is wrong with me...?"

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><p><strong>Poor Marcus... Well, kinda gave myself a cameo, and this chapter came out longer than intended... And I like writing in Jacob, I think I really like the idea of giving Luke a rival. And now a small question to a frequent guest reviewer I have. Not the flamer, I think he's gone.<strong>

**I really can't think of any other questions... So I'm just gonna ask a random one. Is or was there any guy you wanted to date before me? I feel weird asking that, also I know You're Gonna Go Far, Kid by heart. But I wanna sing a song of my choice to you along with it... so yeah. Aishiteru.**


	13. Chapter 13: Natural Feelings

**Another chapter, now back to the confused, sad, and very mentally fragile fox. And a little news. My buddy, Anonymousreader0 has written his first story, which is the backstory for Jacob and Luke. I guess you can call it a bit of a collaboration, and it's nicely written.**

**Disclaimer: Random Smash Bros reference.**

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><p>Marcus looked at himself in the mirror, eyes a bit red from the tears but not completely noticeable. The redness only being apparent if you inspected his eyes. He made sure his face and fur were no longer wet, he didn't want any signs of the tears to show. The fox saw it best to bottle up his turmoil as to not worry the others.<p>

He walked back out of the bathroom and into the room he remembered as Keith's younger brother's room. Just from standing outside the door he could hear the combination of the redhead's guitar complimented by the vocals of the black haired boy. Though something strange about the singing, the words seemed to be a foreign language.

"He seems to be speaking Japanese." Marcus nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the voice behind him. After reclaiming his calm demeanor, he turned around to find Jacob was standing behind him.

"That makes sense, he did say his brother loves anime and such." The blue fox thought back on earlier conversation. The brown husky looked at the young fox and nodded.

"Is something bothering you?" Marcus had his head turned away from his direction which was helpful to hide the shock in his eyes.

"No, I just ate something bad. And Keith wants you, me, and Luke to help his brother in a chorus." Jacob chuckled a bit.

"I don't really have much of a singing voice, but I do know Luke does..." He sighed as he stared at a wall thinking back a few years.

"I didn't know you two knew each other." Marcus added, breaking the husky from his nostalgia.

"Well, we did room together when we both we starting as pilots. He seemed a bit nice at first, but that was before the incident." He trailed off.

"I want to know about that."

"That is a story saved for another time, it seems they're done and we should learn our parts, will you go and get the mutt for me?" Marcus nodded and made his way to the living room. He found Luke with a bored expression on his face while Paul was having a one-sided conversation with him. He quickly tapped his shoulder and explained the chorus position they were just given.

"Thank you for saving me from him, guy is boring as fuck." The young lupine smiled as he walked with Marcus. Though his smile faded immediately when he laid his eyes on the husky as they walked in the room. All three roommates sat on the bed across from the brothers.

"Alright, now that all three of you are here, I need to hear your voices."

"Um..."

"Alright."

"Whatever." Roy watched and listened to their tones and ranges. He nodded and started thinking of each unique voice.

"Let's start off with the wolf, your voice is a very unique tone, a balanced between mature and childish, a bit deep but able to hit high notes without strain." Luke smiled smugly, he was proud of his vocal chords. "As for the husky, his a nice baritone, kinda like a bara voice."

"I thought I said you couldn't read those anymore..." Keith added, causing his younger brother to blush.

"I'm not! I'm just using it as an example... Moving on! The strange colored fox, he's got a nice simple youthful pitch. He might get mistaken as a girl if he sings in high notes all the time." Marcus felt the blood rush to his cheeks from embarrassment. As if being a bit short wasn't hurting his masculinity enough. "I'm calling you Shota from now on."

"Keith, what does that mean?" Marcus asked, the human shrugged.

"It means young boy, usually very young looking and under the age of 17. It's also a fetish for some people." Jacob explained.

"Of course you would know that." Luke snickered as he felt the glare from the husky burning a hole in his head. "And incase you didn't know, Bara is muscular men, also a fetish."

"And how would YOU know that?" This time Jacob laughed at the lupine's knowledge.

"Can you two stop arguing and just fuck already!" Roy yelled, making everyone stare at the young black haired boy. Awkward silence filled the room from what he just said. It stayed as a dead silent picture for a full minute before anyone could even say anything.

"Excuse me?" Marcus asked, being the one of the youngest in the room, he had no idea about the meaning of his outburst. Since he was sheltered for most of his life, the blue fox was truly innocent. This was the first he ever heard of the context of two men together.

"Never mind, just take these song lyrics and learn the highlighted part." The boy ran a hand through his black hair and sighed. He tossed three papers at them and leaned against the wall. Marcus scanned the paper that was thrown at him and was relieved to see it was in English. Children Record was in bold print at the top, the whole lyrics seemed a it strange, but he wondered how the actual song sounded like. Was it fast, slow, upbeat or even somehow techno.

"Alright, good luck practicing brother, we'll come by every now and then to help ya." The redhead got up and ruffled his little brother's hair. Although Roy brushed his hand off, he smiled.

"Alright, see ya guys."

With their goodbyes said, the whole Cornerian Academy students left. Though the awkward silence from before was still there. It wasn't broken until after they made it back home.

"So Keith, how is it that you have a southern accent and yet your brothers don't?" Jacob asked as he stayed by his side.

"Well, we moved around a lot when we all were kids... which is really far from each other. Paul grew up around New York, I was raised in Georgia, and Roy mostly grew up in California. So all our habits are based off where we were mostly raised." The human explained as they walked inside, he took a seat on the couch while the husky sat along with him, getting to know the human a bit more, seeing as he was the only one in the house he was unfamiliar with.

While the two conversed, Luke returned upstairs to read through the song in his room, leaving his best friend on his own. A question occurred in his mind as he remembered the events from earlier. He wanted to know what was wrong with him, what was causing all this. He trudged up the steps as he approached the end of the hall and felt his heart beating in his throat as he took his trembling paw to knock on Wolf's door. It took all the courage he could muster up, but the fox managed to knock on his door. Shortly after, the older lupine opened the door.

"What is it, pup?"

"I have a question and I need an adult to answer me." He muttered, barely audible through his nervousness.

"Then why don't you ask the human, he's an adult."

"I don't want to tell him..." The fox looked down to the floor. Wolf recognized that look. It was the sign of innocence beginning to leave and slowly bringing him to confusion. The look of guilt was plastered all over him.

"Just get inside and ask." The mercenary ordered and opened the door wider to let him in. Marcus made his way in and noticed the luxury in the room. The large king size bed's sheets seemed to be expensive and possibly imported. The walls were lined with many weapons fit for a mercenary. And on a desk he saw the infamous box labeled luck. Chills went down Marcus' spine as he remembered that night.

"So what is that you wanted to ask me?" Wolf leaned against the wall, next to his head was a large Sniper Rifle mounted along with others.

"Um... I've been having these feelings lately..." _'Fuck, those were not the words I wanted to hear, now I have to fucking explain where babies come from.'_

Wolf cursed in his mind, he was not the person to ask these questions, they were meant for his parents. "Go on, what about them?"

"It makes my heart race and my mind go blank, but... I can't help but like it a bit..." He hanged his head again.

"Marcus, when a man loves a woman, he gets those feelings..." The statement only made the fox feel worse, there was no woman involved. Now he was going back to thinking he was a broken tool.

"But... what if..." Marcus felt his blood turn cold as he wished he could take back his words, but they were already said.

"What if... out with it already." The older lupine crossed his arms and sighed. Marcus gulped as he tried to spit out his words, but he soon found the mouse courage to spill it out.

"What if it's for another man...?" _'Holy shit!'_

The mercenary gasped and stared at the blue fox with a wide eye. Was the son of Fox McCloud really coming out? He approached Marcus, seeing him quiver and unable to fight back sobs.

"Marcus, it's perfectly fine to love another man. Don't let anyone ever tell you it's wrong." Wolf let the strong exterior side to him fade away to comfort the crying fox. If he kept the feelings pent up inside, he would never be truly happy with his life.

"B-But, why do I feel this way..." The tears seemed never ending as they rolled down his face. Falling to be soaked up by his scarf and fade away. The older lupine placed a paw on the young fox and directed his attention to look him right in the eye.

"We all don't know, but we do know that it feels right to us, whatever feels right, must be right. And if someone tries to tell you it's wrong, you stand your ground, knock 'em out with a left hook and beat some sense into them." Wolf's words were sowing ease into Marcus, but he wondered about other things.

"They're people who don't like it?" He still sobbed, but fewer tears streamed down from his red lined eyes.

"Yeah, there are some people who hate gays, but we're not bad in any way. They just don't see it as a lighter position." Wolf explained.

"Why do they hate us...?" _'Man, how many damn questions is he going to ask?'_

"They believe... that men and women must be together in order to reproduce and survive. But since a baby can't be made from two men, they believe that we love other men just for the pleasure and that we're addicted." He paused and saw the crushed look in the fox's green eyes. "But isn't life all about seeking happiness and pleasure? We're not addicted, we just want love. No need to be afraid about it."

"Ok... Are you-"

"Yes." Wolf answered without hesitation. He pulled the fox in for a hug, though he now knew why he liked the hug, Marcus couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Though the hug was more as a comfort attempt, which seems to work. He smiled a bit as he was relieved from his doubts. "You're not a freak, weirdo, and nothing wrong with you. You're just completely fine." The crying ceased and Marcus was released from the hug.

"Are you going to tell my parents?"

"No, that's your duty and choice to tell them. Now do you have anymore questions?" Marcus shook his head and made his way to the door.

"Thank you Wolf." The mercenary smiled.

"Anytime pup."

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><p><strong>Wolf does have a heart! It's just hidden behind a dark curtain, shrouded in darkness, and in the center of the a Black Hole where his heart is supposed to be located... Well anyways, hope ya guys enjoyed the chapter. And now my message to my love.<strong>

**I should be sorry. I got my hopes up. And what I would do if you died... I would possibly isolate myself away in a corner and depending if I ever get over it I might be afraid to start any other relationship. And if it still haunts me, I might just slit my throat with a pair of scissors... Yeah... It all depends though. And a little word of advice. Don't be afraid to ramble and rant to me. I'll listen to every word you have to say, and I'm so sorry to hear about all that as well. I want to help you through it, but the only way I can see is that you vent out your feelings to me. It may not work seeing as I can't directly speak to you, but at least you'll know I'm listening.**

**In a nutshell. Don't hold back, say anything on your mind, don't even wait for an update, just any moment you want to say something, say it. And I love you.**


	14. Chapter 14: Sleepy Nights

**Well, I'm a bit depressed now... My love is gone for good this time and... I didn't even get to tell him Happy Birthday today. But I'm still going to smile and write like I always do. As long as I stay happy, he won't be let down. Now on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: BAKA! (for those of you who don't understand Japanese, baka means stupid, idiot, fool, retard and any other word you can think of meaning dumb. The way you say it depends on the meaning... Try and guess which meaning I used)**

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><p>The fox stared at the ceiling, he couldn't really fall asleep at the moment, despite being emotionally exhausted from having his question answered by Wolf. He wondered if Keith was one of the people that don't like gays. The thought frighten him, he didn't want to lose him. Marcus' thoughts brought his mind to Luke. His cheerful friend (not counting his unclear hatred towards Jacob) always mentioned staying friends with him through thick or thin, he wondered if it was true.<p>

"I shouldn't think of this... I'll keep myself awake trying to figure this out." He whispered to himself. After turning on his side to stare at the clock, he found that he's been awake for a good three hours. "Dammit..." He muttered, soon his stomach growled as well.

The fox got up from his bed and made his way downstairs. Seeing as he the hunger wouldn't help at all getting to bed, Marcus decided to fill up on anything in the fridge. Though it wasn't wise to wander in the household at night, especially given whose home they were in. The fox sighed, accepting to take a stun blast at point blank if Wolf heard him rummaging through the fridge, maybe then he'll get to sleep.

On the way into the kitchen, he noticed the lights were already on and that no one was even in there. He shrugged it off as he searched the cabinets for a quick snack. After a bit of a tough decision, Marcus decided to eat some granola bars. Three would be enough seeing as he doesn't need to eat a lot for his small stature. He ripped the wrapper off the first snack and bit into it while running a hand through his currently messy white hair.

He sat at the table and slowly filled his stomach and noticed an object out of place. A journal left opened and it's contents free to prying eyes. Impulsively, the fox began reaching for it, though the second his fingers traced the edges of the paper. He felt a bit of regret and second thoughts.

"... Only to find out whose it is..." He reassured himself and pulled the entire journal into his grasp. The handwriting was very impressive and sophisticated, so he opted out Luke and Keith. He's seen Luke's penmanship, apparently his OCD doesn't affect his writing. (Try telling that to Death the Kid... Whoops, wrong series)

As he read through the first few pages he quickly realized it was a journal for personal events, those belonging to Jacob Grey. He dwelled deeper into the journal's secrets and suddenly the small rivalry between them became clear.

"Having a good read?" Marcus nearly had a heart attack and fumbled to keep the journal from falling to the ground. He turned around to find that the husky had yet again snuck up on him. He was caught red-handed reading through his personal thoughts and life experiences.

"Um, I-I'm so sorry, I was trying to find out whose it was and... Then I kinda just kept reading..." Marcus blushed in embarrassment and tilted his head down, though in his slumped position he stared up at Jacob. The brown husky kept a slight smile.

"It's fine, you just have the same curious nature I have." He took a seat right next to Marcus and took back the journal. He checked how far the fox read and felt a ting of nostalgic regret hit himself. "I see, you made it that far..."

"Yeah, you saw Luke as a brother when you first met, but after an accident you two now hate each other." The husky scoffed at the last remark.

"The hatred is only one-sided, I could never hate him." Marcus looked back at their little fits, it was usually Luke who started it out and used the foul language, Jacob used more snarky and clever insults, but never really provocative.

"Then why are you pretending to?"

"He won't listen to anything but anger, I find it better to have him yelling obscenities at me rather than never speaking to me again." The fox wondered about his reasons to want to keep the friendship alive.

"You love him, don't you?"

"You won't believe how many people came to that conclusion, I say it's true in a sense, but only in terms of brotherly love." The husky kept a smile while he explained. Marcus wondered about the past for a bit. He was friends with the young lupine for as far back as he could remember up to the age of twelve. From what he read, Luke and Jacob met at fifteen, with the friendship beginning and ending in the matter of a few weeks.

"In such a short time... you two hit it off... Just like me and Keith." Marcus reminisced about how he and the human first started out.

"Both you and him have a nice bond already, a shame he's spending his life with another." The blue fox felt the blood rush to his face immediately.

"Yeah, he and Eleanor are back together... Wait, what are you suggesting?" The husky had a sneaky grin on his face.

"I read emotions and people very easily, I notice the way you act around him." _'Wait, what!?' _The tint of red making it's way to his face was currently giving the fox a hard time to breathe and calm down. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Jacob reused the same question used against him earlier. Marcus' thoughts were all fuzzy as he thought about Keith. _'He's a great guy... But do I really love him? AGRH, THIS IS SO CONFUSING!'_

"I don't know..." The fox responded softly, hanging his head low again. He noticed that today is just full of embarrassment and nerve wracking conversations. "I can't tell, I've never been in love before..."

"Well, I'm not the one fit to give advice on the subject either, well, it's best we turn in, we need to get some rest." Jacob tucked his journal into his arm and left for his room. The fox sighed and quickly followed him up the stairs to his own room.

Marcus stared at the ceiling yet again. He still felt his blush on his cheeks as he drifted off to sleep.

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><p>Keith yawned in complete happiness, he didn't know why, but he felt today would be a great day. He put on his work clothes that he wore for working in the shop at the academy. He smiled as he walked out his bedroom door and knocked at Marcus' door.<p>

"Marcus, wake up!" He called out and was immediately faced with the tired looking blue fox. His gaze seemed to be distant and far away from where he actually was. "Yew ok, ya look kinda tired?"

"I didn't get much sleep..." He constantly woke up having strange dreams and quickly waking up before anything could become clear. It got on his nerves to the point that he just tossed all attempts at a peaceful slumber and kept reading through the lyrics of Children Record. He memorized the whole thing but feared he wouldn't be able to use his voice as effectively as Keith's younger brother expected them to.

"I don't think you should go today, better to stay home and sleep than fall asleep in class and get scolded." The human pushed the fox back into his room despite his protests. "Don't worry, I'll have Roy come over to check on ya, he doesn't have school this whole."

The human shut the door and walked over to Wolf's bedroom door and knocked.

"Wolf, Marcus needs rest and mah lil' brother will come over to check on him... Don't shoot him!" Keith felt he needed to stress the last part, seeing as he was almost shot in the head earlier, stun or not, it was still a blaster fire.

"No promises!" The mercenary shouted back at him. The human sighed and made his way downstairs, so far his feeling about the good day were fading. While he ate a quick breakfast of a bowl of cereal, he texted his younger brother his duties for the day and the address to the Manor. He watched as the husky walked down the stairs, senses tingling to duck as to avoid an impatient lupine to soar over his head and roll on the ground. Jacob sighed but smiled at how lively Luke was in the morning. He always had energy to burn, when he was sober of course.

The remaining three left for their classes as Keith explained the reason for Marcus staying home.

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><p>The fox yawned as he finally awoke from what he assumed was an adequate amount of sleep. No dreams tried to wake him up this time so he was able to have a full rest. Though he couldn't help but feel lazy that he was staying home only for some sleep.<p>

"Oh good, you're finally awake." Marcus shot up in his bed and looked at the black haired boy in his room.

"How did you get in here, I swear I locked that door!" He was beginning to think that the purpose of that lock was pointless seeing how so many people have gotten into his room with little to no effort.

"You do know there is a famous mercenary just at the end of the hall, right? After a little persuasion he opened it for me."

"What did you do...?"

"I Have a silver tongue." Roy stated as he leaned against the wall. "And I've only been in here for four minutes, not enough to be a stalker."

"That didn't even cross my mind until now..." Awkward silence filled the room until the young human broke the silence.

"So, learned your part yet?"

"Yeah, I got the whole thing memorized." The blue fox stood up and stretched.

"Good, cause I'm changing my song decision, we're doing Lost Time Memory now." Marcus fell over, the night he spent learning the song just went to waste. "Don't worry, I got the lyrics with me, and I'll help you with the vocals. But I'm going to teach you the way I learn."

"And that is...?" Roy walked over and took a seat at the fox's bed, pulling out his phone and pulling up a video while handing Marcus the paper with the new song. Lost Time Memory was the title.

"I want you to look through the words while the song plays, when you feel comfortable, sing along while still reading through the lyrics. Rinse repeat and soon you'll be able to sing the song by heart." He smiled as he hummed to the song, letting Marcus absorbed the original vocals. What confused him was the video, a few strange things happened throughout it. Though he did recognize tow characters, the two that he saw in the video Keith showed them.

"Please explain the song." The blue fox sat back in bed and waited for a long explanation.

"The main guy in it is named Shintaro and this is based off two different outcomes of his life, the good ending and the bad ending. Both start out the same, he had a friend that he loved in middle school that showed him that life isn't dreary and dull, that it can be much more fun. But she ends up committing suicide and Shintaro isolates himself in his room for two years, becoming a shut-in." Roy ran a hand through his black hair and sighed. "In both time lines, he gets an e-mail with a cyber girl attached to it. But after that is how you tell the difference between both worlds."

"What happened next?"

"In the bad end, Shintaro is still grieving over the lost of his friend and eventually stays in the past memories and chooses not to get over it, but the cyber girl, Ene, tires to convince him to stop dwelling in the past." The boy's face became saddened, he didn't like thinking of the bad ending. "He gets fed up with her and ends up killing her, then he realizes that he was afraid of being alone and ends up going crazy, to the point of slitting his own throat with a pair of scissors."

"Oh... That's so bad..." The human boy held up his hand.

"Now the good ending, Shintaro is a bit shaken by his friend's death, but he quickly gets over and eventually gets shot trying to stop a crazy killer from killing himself." Marcus had a blank expression. "I'm not explaining the whole damn plot to you, just the song, anyways. That's when both Shintaros meet their friend, the bad end Shintaro is awestruck but does nothing as she fades away. The good end Shintaro accepts her death and in return is given the red scarf she always wore."

"So the moral is...?" Roy had enough questions and hit the fox on his head.

"Don't dwell in the past and live for today!"

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><p><strong>Sorry for another song explanation. Then again, you will see the lyrics though. Anyways, I'm still smiling even though I can't speak to my love anymore. Don't worry, I won't pull a Shintaro and slit my throat. Hope you guys enjoyed.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15: Betrayal By Deceit

**Now to check on our favorite Mechanic, Young Sherlock Holmes, and Badass of the group. Also I think I broke my buddy... He seemed pretty broken based on the contents of that review**

**Disclaimer: *claps hands* Yeah, I got nuthin'.**

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><p>Keith smiled as he was finishing up the tune up on the Arwing he was tasked to fix for an assignment, all that was needed to be done was to test pilot it to see if all was well and functioning correctly. Though he would've have gotten to fly it yesterday if Luke hadn't gone on an OCD rampage and asked to take apartt the whole thing and help put it back together again. But luckily, Keith was already an expert at assembly and disassembly. This would have taken an entire week for regular mechanics to do.<p>

"Ain't she a beauty?"

"Yup, she's perfectly put together, not a single part missing or out of place, just how I like it." The two stood shoulder to shoulder as they marveled at the completed Arwing. "Now what?" The young lupine asked, making sure each bead in his choker necklace was straight.

"Now comes the fun part, we fly her and see how she rides!" The redhead gave a toothy grin as he announced. Luke shared in the grin and gave the older human a high five as he felt his blood pump. He always wanted to fly an Arwing that he knew was functioning correctly through his own means of assembly. Now he could really cut loose and fly knowing that it was put together by his own paws, with a bit of help.

"Can we do it now!?"

"Of course, but I'm gonna be the one flyin' I did most of the work." Keith took a bandana out of his back pocket and wiped the grease and sweat off of his face, instead of tucking the dirty rag away, he tied around his wrist.

"Ok... Why did you just wrap that grease rag on your hand?" He felt it was a bit disgusting, although the bandana didn't look that filthy. It was a cool checkered design.

"It's special to me and I don't ever want ta lose it, best to keep things close to ya when you want to keep 'em."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it special to you?" The young lupine asked, feeling a bit curious about it's origin.

"I'll tell ya in the cockpit when we fly." The human sighed and watched as the Arwing was towed away to the launch bay.

As the human prepped for launch, the troublesome OCD lupine was fidgeting in the small passenger seat set behind the driver seat. He couldn't contain his excitement, the first Arwing he assembled and now he gets to fly in it. It was putting a permanent smirk on his face.

"Yew ready?"

"Fuck yeah!" Luke cheered, though Keith sighed at the constant string of curses he was uttering at the moment. He activated the ignition and waited a second for the engine to heat up.

"Ignition sounds good, now for the thrust." He engaged the throttle as the force pushed back on the two. "Activating the G-Diffuser." He flipped a switch and felt the weight lift off of him and allowed for better comfort.

The human began to increase the altitude and brought the Arwing to the height of the clouds.

"This is awesome! She runs smoothly!" Luke continued to compliment the way their ride flew.

"I know, she's even agile and-" Keith stopped in his sentence when he felt a small vibration. "Shit, mah phone's ringin', can you reach in mah pocket and answer it fer me?"

Luke let out a chuckle as he leaned in to reach in his pockets. "Um... It's in the back pockets..." The human blushed as he felt that this was the worst moment for himself to get a call. The young lupine sighed.

"Which cheek?" The questioned caused the human to flush a brighter crimson.

"Left." After rising in his seat to give Luke leverage, and the probing paw that reached in and retrieved the phone, a bit too long, he was relieved to have the task done. "So who is it?"

"Says Eleanor, do I answer it?" Keith sighed and had second thoughts.

"Yeah." Without hesitation, the young lupine answered and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello? No, this is Luke, he's currently flying right now... Alright, I'll tell him, so what are you wea-Bitch hung up on me!" He cried out, Keith wanted to hit the eject button for the passenger seat, but he wasn't going to stoop that low.

"Well you wanted to know what she was wearin', of course any woman would've hung up."

"Whatever, I'm surprised you haven't ejected me yet. She said she wants to see a movie later, by the way." Keith stared at the skies as the clouds passed them by. He honestly didn't want to spend much time with her anymore, he knew that her brother would change his mind eventually.

"I have to ask, where yew cupping a feel on mah ass earlier?" Keith asked, wanting to change the subject, despite having the new subject be about something just as awkward.

"Yeah, big whoop." Blood rushed to his cheeks again as he heard the lupine's confession.

"Whah...?"

"I think you're a bit hot, so what? Not the only guy I want." All the sudden info was causing the human's head to spin.

"I thought yew were a womanizin' drunk!"

"Drunk, not at the moment, womanizing, that's part of my occupation. I go both ways, but just like my OCD, I have certain tastes."

Keith wondered about what kind of guy he likes. Then he realized he was flying an Arwing as was slowly going at a dive, which would have caused both of them to die in a fiery crash if the HUD didn't warn him about the approaching land.

"I can tell you don't really want to go on that movie date." Luke was grinning ear to ear in his seat as he cradled the human's phone in his paws.

"And why do ya care?"

"I just wanted to confirm something." The human executed a U-Turn and made his way back to the academy to end the flight. "Maybe you can spend tonight with someone else..." The young lupine's voice trailed off like it always had when he convince him and Marcus to do things they didn't want to. But the sad part about the dying tone, was that they would fall for it every time.

"Send her a text that I'm gonna be busy and can't go." Keith commanded, his voice being lower than usual. Luke smiled in victory but placed the phone down, having sent the text already before the command.

* * *

><p>The fox rubbed his head from the little playful hit he got from Roy. He had to admit, it was nice conversing with someone his own age, but the boy seemed a bit more mature, much like himself.<p>

"Oh yeah, I never got to hear you sing." Marcus brought up, feeling the need to change the subject. The human by sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

_Flying by all those airy days, where each day is the same_

_When you were gone that space started making me uneasy_

_Well 'nuff said anyway, my test scores stay the same_

_Even alone I know all the answers to the problems_

_Aah_

His voice was soothing, a nice mature deep but still kept a high pitch. The fox was about to compliment him, but he continued with the performance.

_As I ran through those hazy days, There must have been a change_

_I couldn't see your tree in the forest of the problems_

_That shade of your flowing hair, that smile without a care_

_It's likely that most of them will forget it in a heartbeat_

_That empty desk I'm by, and out the pane of sky_

_What is it that I'm waiting to be echoed back?_

_Even though I tried, your words would pass me by_

_In the end, I didn't solve a thing at all!_

Roy seemed to put more emotion into the last line by increasing his volume, though the rest was kept at a soft whisper.

_By getting just a little closer to you, I think I could find it out_

_Just so these days would never ever have to end, without a doubt_

_Ringing in a tone that slowly died and never will restart again_

_And all at once I know everything is gone..._

The emotion put into his work was clear as night and day, where most singers would try putting the words in a melodic tone, he was adding human emotion into the voice. And once again, his voice was back to the normal volume.

_She couldn't take it, living with a heart that only wants to disappear_

_Keeping her feelings his behind a smile that stretched from ear to ear_

_Even when the smile had folded up and died from soaring from the window_

_Even then, I don't think that I'll forget..._

_Such a pretty smile_

Marcus couldn't help but clap after the end of the song. Roy brushed the hair out of his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, you're too kind."

"What's the name of that song?"

"Toumei Answer, but I'm not explaining anymore songs to you." Just as Marcus was about to ask for an encore for the song they needed to learn, the door creaked open. The black haired boy heard the noise and pulled from his pocket a knife, only to toss it at the person coming in. The thrown knife nearly hit Wolf by an inch and stuck into the wall next to the doorway.

"... Is that what I get for coming in without knocking?" He laughed. "Better work on your aim, kid."

"Next time I'll aim at the wall and hit you." Roy threatened, the mercenary pulled the knife out of the wall and inspected it.

"You gotta do better than a steak knife, and why even have this in the first place?" The human boy crossed his arms and stared at the wall, away from the eyes of Marcus and Wolf.

"Keith warned me that I might get my head blown off by you, so might as well bring something to defend myself with, and sorry, creaking doors activated an old habit that needs to die." The black haired boy vaguely explained.

"What habit?"

"Sorry, I'd rather not talk about it... I'm gonna head home now." The boy trudged off, bumping into Wolf without any sign of regret as he left the Manor.

"What was that about?" The blue fox wondered out loud, scratching his head as he tried to make sense for the human's actions.

"His eyes..." Wolf muttered. "They've seen enough..." He shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving Marcus with even more questions concerning the human boy. Though after hearing the front door open again, the fox got up and rushed downstairs to see the rest of the roommates.

"Hey Keith, I just noticed that I never asked this, but... What was your life like back on Earth?" Though when he looked into the eyes of his friend, the dark blue showed an look of exhaustion.

"I'm sorry Marcus, I just don't feel like explaining, especially 'bout that hellhole." Keith sighed and made his way upstairs to his room, which Luke quickly followed in his steps. All that was left was Jacob and Wolf in the room.

"Is something wrong with him?" The fox asked, directing the question to the brown husky.

"He's been quiet ever since he got back from class, and surprisingly, Luke has been silent as well." Jacob explained.

"Then, what do you think happened to Keith, Roy, and Paul back on Earth?" The fox was not giving up until he got the right answers. The husky held his chin in thought.

"The eldest brother's age was 38, right?" The fox nodded. "Just look up info on Earth around those years on each of their names to find something." Jacob advised before making his way into the kitchen to get a snack.

"Alright, thanks Jacob!" Marcus smiled as he ran back to his room, leaving Wolf to be in the living room by himself. The mercenary sighed and jumped on the couch to watch the news, see if he made the evening events despite doing nothing all day.

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><p>Upon entering his room, Keith tossed his soiled shirt to the hamper and began searching for a cleaner shirt.<p>

"Nice scars." He heard the door shut behind him and knew that Luke made his way in. "A tough body with burns and cuts all over it. I love it."

The young lupine smiled as he admired the view. Keith felt his cheeks burn, but he didn't like the attention he was getting.

"I like how ya helped me get out of that date with Eleanor, but I'm not doing anything with yew." Keith stated clearly as he crossed his arms and glared at Luke. The young lupine felt his grin get wider.

"You know you want to, you could've locked the door to keep me out."

"You would've picked the lock." Luke chuckled as he took a few steps closer to the human.

"Which means you didn't want me to have anything to keep me away from coming inside." The human was silent, seeing as he was put into an argument he couldn't win. "You know it's unavoidable, and you're just going to let this happen."

Keith stayed silent, not even when the lupine was inches away from him. He felt his paw on his chin and cup his face, Luke leaning in to whisper.

"It would be easier if you at least play along." The human shoved all hint of regret and restraint away as he pushed Luke onto the bed. Immediately diving on him and meeting his face.

"This what yew wanted?" Luke had a sadistic grin and cupped his paws around Keith's scarred face.

"Yeah." No more words were exchanged as he allowed him to press his lips against the human's. Sharing a taste and letting the unease fall away.

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><p><strong>Pretty sure I don't need to continue that in a T rated fic! Sorry guys, not for this story! Anyways, hope ya didn't mind the first kiss in the entire story, not counting Krystal's kisses on Marcus. As for the English dub lyrics for Toumei Answer, those lyrics were made by Jubyphonic. She allows anyone to use her lyrics as long as credit is given, because Juby is awesome like that. Seriously, listen to her, she's amazing.<strong>


	16. Chapter 16: Benefits

**Sweet sixteenth chapter! And because of the ending to the last one, I can't stop drawing the guys in sexy pin up calendar poses... I blame Keith, he's the one that I drew first and brought upon the others to be drawn the same way. Don't ask, but it might fuel a chapter later somehow...**

**Disclaimer: I want to make Luke and Jacob the official canon children to Bill Grey and Wolf, help me get the rights!**

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><p>The fox awoke early in the morning, feeling much more revitalized than the previous day. Although he wanted to do the digging on the human's past, he was still a bit a tired and ended sleeping the rest of the day. Marcus did take the opportunity of the early morning to do the research.<p>

He stared at the screen of his laptop, awaiting the results for searching all three of the human's full names. After a moment, the fox was rewarded with links to info of the Smith family.

"That was easy, let's see... Family Tree, sure." Upon looking through the site, he noticed that the parents were left unknown and that another sibling existed. "They have a sister... Lara Smith."

Luckily the site had pictures and made identifying the family easily, the sister was around the age of 15 and had brown hair coupled with hazel eyes.

"She looks like Paul..." He browsed through the personal info to find that she was deceased. "She's dead...?" Marcus gasped as he continued to peak and try to bring light to the death.

Though he only managed to find that she had died about three years ago, he closed up the dead sister's info and focused more on the living brothers. Through the new topic, Marcus was able to find that at the same time Keith enrolled as a mechanic, was the same moment they moved into Corneria from Earth, three years ago.

"That's the same time Lara died... Wonder how she died." Though the topic was morbid to look into, the fox was too curious at the moment to just stop at what little info he had. Though his constant prying didn't grant him an answer.

A knock on his door brought him out of his searching.

"Marcus, it's time to wake up." The voice belonged to the husky, which explained why the door wasn't thrown open and or a cheery tone behind the knocking.

"Be out in a second!" The fox called out as he shut off his laptop. Marcus rushed to his closet and pulled out his normal attire and quickly changed and rushed out his bedroom. He stared down the stairs and felt an impulsive urge to try Luke's way of going down stairs. He leaped off the top of the stairs and tucked in his arm as he slowly rolled in midair, his arm coming into contact with the oncoming ground, propelling himself into a one-arm handstand, the fox leaped off from said stance into a flip and stuck his feet to solid ground as a landing.

"A prodigy indeed." Jacob clapped from his spot by the staircase.

"Hehe, thanks, so where's Keith and Luke?"

"Still sleeping." The husky replied while he bit into a piece of toast.

Upstairs, the two mentioned mechanics were still asleep in Keith's room. The redhead was the first to awake and stared at the sleeping body of the other. He shook the young lupine awake.

"Wake up, it's mornin'." (just to let ya know, they've been in that room ever since they got home the day before...)

Luke opened his light blue eyes and stared at the human with a smirk.

"So how was it for you?" Keith wanted to glare but couldn't help but smile at the memories still fresh in his mind.

"I'll be the first of the many people yew probably slept with to say it was amazin'." Both held toothy grins as the got up and quickly pulled on their clothes. Though a question burned through the human's mind.

"So are we..."

"Friends with benefits, I don't really like holding onto a relationship with anyone..." The young lupine's tone went low, as did his eyes. Keith couldn't help but catch the mood change, but chose not to pry about it. He walked out of the room after Luke and made his way downstairs, while Luke returned to his room to change his clothes.

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><p>Marcus sat as his seat in class and felt a thought pop in his mind. <em>'There goes paying attention to class.'<em>

The mid-class thinking became routine to the blue fox to the point that when a simple question popped in his head there was no hope in paying attention. The question this time was what happened to Lara. It was still fresh in his mind, the same sadness he experienced from discovering the death. It just tore him up to think of anyone dying.

"I know that look you have, can't stop thinking of Lara?" Marcus stared at the husky with wide eyes.

"H-How!?"

"I looked into his background the same night I met the family, I figured you were the type to get hung over death." Jacob analyzed the young fox.

"So, seeing that you love peeking into people's personal lives, mind telling me what happened to her?" The husky smiled as he wrote down a few notes for the day and placed it aside.

"Surprisingly, I have yet to uncover that mystery, each time I research any topic that has happened on Earth in the past four years, I get a large blank slate. It's as if the whole planet was covering up something." Marcus sighed, if Jacob couldn't find out than there was no hope to learning about it through regular terms.

"Class, I have some unfortunate news... Due to low funding, we cannot afford to conduct test dog fights with real Arwings to give real life experience." The instructor explained, Marcus slammed his palms into his desk.

"What, then what do we do to raise the money!?" Marcus was panicking, he needed the experience to be able to reach his potential.

"Well, you can worry about that Mr. McCloud." The fox frowned and began to think of fundraiser ideas.

"Do you even know how much money is needed?" Jacob added, bringing the fox down even further. The blue fox rubbed his temples and scratched his white hair. After much needed explanation, the required Credits to pay for the expenses was a whopping 650,000. "Dammit, how are we going to get all that money...?" The rest of the day, Marcus wracked his brains to find a solution for the money problem.

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><p>The human smiled as he looked at the weapons spread out on the table. Luke's eyes were sparkling as he was a kid in a candy store. Being the first of the students to finish an Arwing, the two were allowed to move on to maintenance on weapons.<p>

"I can't believe we get to take these apart!" He beamed with happiness. "By the way, you never told me about that bandana."

The human sighed as he pulled out the checkered designed rag.

"It belonged to one of my buddies on Earth, he's been mah best friend since I was a kid." He gripped the bandana and smiled. "Besides, I owe him with mah life, I hope he and his brother are doin' fine."

"Why?"

"Well, Earth's not exactly in the best of shape..." The human began to explain as memories flooded back to him. The feeling of fear being your constant friend while using the same fear to fuel yourself to keep moving on and protecting those you love.

"So back to these!" The young lupine held a shotgun blaster, holding it like it was a gift from the Heavens. The human rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I still can't believe I slept with you..."

"You seemed to really enjoy it, especially when I-"

"WE ARE WORKIN' NOW!" Keith was blushing madly and wanted to stop himself from strangling Luke. "But seriously man, try an' keep some of that stuff under wraps, I still got a girlfriend..."

Luke smiled and began to admire the weaponry. "I forgot about Ellie, eh, it's not the first time I fucked someone already in a relationship." He passed the thought off and whistled a small tune.

"Eleanor, and how do ya live with yourself doin' so much bad things?" The human was truly perplexed by the young Lupine's way of living.

"No offense, Red, but corruption and cheating is everywhere. I've had my eyes opened since I was just a pup." His grin faded to match his reminiscent stare as he pulled out his own grease rag and began to clean the blaster. "You know how hard it was being out on the streets at the age of five, seeing prostitutes die and people getting mugged each day and night for three years? Then get adopted by a mercenary that trains you to do exactly what I've seen countless times before... I hardly have any good memories, so I try to convince myself that being bad is fun, and it works. I laugh, I smile, I feel alive again."

The words were deep despite where they were coming from, Keith began to wonder if that soft spot Luke has for Marcus is that good side he buried still trying to get out.

"I'm sorry man..."

"It's fine, you can make up for in in bed later by-" Keith thumped the side of Luke's head to silence him from anymore sexual references, all with a blush on his face.

"Next time, I'm on top, that's what's gonna happen." Keith felt embarrassed to say it, but he needed to voice his thoughts.

* * *

><p>Back home, the fox sitting on the couch along Wolf, Marcus was still thinking about ideas. The mercenary saw the deep thinking in his green eyes and began to have a discussion with the angel and devil on his shoulders.<p>

"So what are you thinking about, pup?" The fox nearly jumped ten feet hearing Wolf's voice.

"The academy is low on funds and can't operate live dogfights for training, so I'm trying to think of a few fundraising ideas." The blue fox explained, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Based on that face, ya got nothing, right?" Marcus hung his head in defeat.

"I'm not good with ideas for stuff like this..." The older lupine held his chin in thought, only finding a perverted idea.

"I got one."

"It has to be legal..." Wolf scoffed at the added comment.

"It is, why not sell photos of the men at the academy?" Marcus was lost and in a flurry of blushing.

"What's that supposed to accomplish?!"

"Cornerian Academy is filled with some of the most built men in the Galaxy, you make a website, get a few pics, sell for subscriptions and stuff." Wolf explained with a bored tone.

"That's basically selling Porn!" The young fox yelled, shocked that he actually said that word out loud.

"It's not if you keep the privates hidden, then it's considered modeling." The mercenary smiled as he imagined the amount of money that idea could bring in.

"We're not doing that!"

"Got any better ideas?" The fox knocked his head back, staring at the ceiling and avoiding the gaze of the older Lupine.

"Fine, I'll let the Dean know, but I'm stating it as YOUR idea."

* * *

><p>Keith smiled as he continued to strum his guitar to play the song the group was roped into singing. Though he wasn't the one to help with vocals, he was merely helping Luke learn when to come in.<p>

"Alright, so our new part is to come in at the chorus while your brother does the intro, right?" The young Lupine asked, still struggling to grasp the meaning to the lyrics. The human stopped strumming and nodded as he placed the guitar aside.

"Yeah, but based on how fickle mah brother is, he's probably gonna give yew all assigned parts rather than just the chorus..." Keith shrugged as he recalled many other occasions Roy had done sudden changes. "Best to learn the whole thing. Just incase."

Luke scanned through the paper and tossed it aside carelessly.

"Finished." Keith couldn't help but laugh at the childish behavior.

"Alright, then let's see if ya can recite the whole thing be heart." Keith had a toothy grin as he saw Luke sweat nervously.

"Um... Fuck it, want to make out?" The redhead deadpanned but quickly shook his head with a chuckle.

"Sing one line from the song and then we can." Luke grinned as he coughed to clear his voice.

_Don't wonder why wanna die wanna die, grabbing my own hand, cursing it to Hell as I sat there._

The human smiled widely as brought the black haired wolf down and giving him a deep kiss, rewarding him for the moment. But unknown to them, the door opened to unveil the moment to a pair of mismatched eyes.

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><p><strong>Yup, ending it at another kiss. Oh Wolf, you perverted mercenary... You just want pics of the men. And it's pretty obvious who walked in on the make out session. But incase it isn't, I'm not saying a word. Hope ya guys enjoyed it.<strong>


	17. Chapter 17: Echoes of the Past

**Hey, we have the same amount of chapters as my age... Disregard that last statement creepers! Also, I need help understanding something... What does it mean when you kiss your close friend on the lips who is also dating a girl and is still perfectly fine with the kiss, and continues to be your close friend and gives you hugs? Whatever, on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: Still haven't stolen the rights to Starfox... I need a band of mercenaries to help in this heist... CALLING ALL MERCS!**

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><p>Without letting his presence be known, the husky shut the door on the fun that the human and lupine were having. Jacob made his way into his bed room and fell back onto his bed. It would seem that the moment was burned into his mind, but he had no clue why it was affecting him so much. His mind was desperately finding possible outcomes to the situation, but none of it helped his emotions. Anger, sadness, regret, and a tint of jealousy swirled in his heart.<p>

Leaving the young detective to be caught in confusion of what he wanted. He was able to rationalize that most of the reason for this plethora of mixed emotions was about his friend, Luke. Seeing as he only met Keith days ago, the flood of feelings were most likely for the young lupine.

"Maybe they were all right..." He clutched the goggles in his hands and held them close to his chest.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe I'm going through with the porn idea..." Marcus sighed as he rubbed his temples, still discussing it with Wolf.<p>

"If ya need help, feel free to let me into the project, do you know how many ladies would want this body?" The blue fox glared at the mercenary.

"But that's pointless, you're not even going to sleep with them!"

"I just said they would want me, I never said I was going to fuck 'em." Marcus hung his head again as he wished this situation would end. "Besides, I'd be doing you a favor, maybe you'll get to see your first shirtless guy up close."

"I already have, Keith works out in his boxers. He was doing push ups when I first met him." Wolf closed his eye and began to think of the moment.

"Was his ass facing you or away from?"

"Facing me... WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS!?" The fox snapped at the owner of his home and noticed that they were having a conversation... despite the topic, he was speaking somewhat casually with the rival of his father.

"Your fault for spilling it out, so how'd he look, wonder if we can get to see his ass later..."

"Will you stop talking about my friend's ass for one minute!?" Marcus scolded the older lupine to get a chuckle from him.

"Fine, only because your tantrums are getting annoying." The fox calmed himself and steadied his breathing.

"Still, since we're going through with it, does that mean I'll have to pose?" Wolf nodded and confirmed his fear.

"Don't worry, pup, your clothes will be on, since you're underage, we so much as get one pic with you without a shirt and the whole academy gets shut down for child pornography. But Luke and Jacob are more than welcomed to strip for the camera."

The fox felt his cheeks burn red from the thoughts of the photo shoots. He really wasn't looking forward to it, but he needed the academy to get their funds up to earn more live battle experience.

* * *

><p>The next day, the human woke up and remembered that he needed to check his Email. After a brief look through messages, he noticed a message from his buddy.<p>

"No fuckin' way!" He yelled in excitement after reading through the first sentence of it's contents. His outburst of joy and disbelief woke up the whole Manor. The first of the occupants to react to Keith's morning wake-up call, was none other than the owner of the home.

Wolf kicked open the door and threw one of his boots at him. Hitting him right between the legs in his pride. Letting out a groan in pain and crumbled to the ground, holding his pained area.

"Next time I chucking my steel toe boots at you." The older lupine warned, grabbing his makeshift projectile weapon. The others stood in the doorway to see the human in utter pain as Wolf walked out.

"You gave him the boot, didn't ya?" Luke asked, grinning while trying to suppress his chuckles.

"Yup." The young lupine grabbed his sides as he began laughing hysterically, needing to sit down as to not fall over. Marcus ran over to his friend and winced at the pain stricken face of the human.

"Keith... Are you going to be ok?" He asked, realizing that he was getting worked up over nothing seeing Keith smile through a few pain tears.

"I'll be fine... I've been hit there by worse things... Besides, happiness is numbin' my pour body." Outside the room, the husky stared in amazement at how long Luke was laughing, three minutes and not a single break for air to refill his lungs.

"Why are you so happy?" The fox asked, a bit confused how someone can still smile after taking a blow to the balls.

"Mah buddy's comin' to Corneria!" A boot flew into the room and nearly hit the redhead again hadn't the fox caught it first and toss it back. "Thanks..."

"I'm happy that your friend is coming here, is their a reason?" The fox ask, keeping his ears open to anymore oncoming enemy fire.

"He's moving here from Earth, and comin' to see Roy and yew guys sing..." He lolled his head back, exhausted from the pain.

"Um... Maybe you should stay home..." Marcus suggested, Jacob's ears twitched at the moment, finding interest in the opportunity.

"I'm not sure..." Keith replied, eyes closed."

"It will be fine, I'll look after you." The husky volunteered for taking care of the human for the day.

"Alright, I'll make sure to pay attention in class this time and write more notes." Marcus agreed to the conditions and planned to force himself to listen.

"Wait, yew haven't been paying attention in class?" The dark blue eyes opened and looked at the blue fox. Marcus began to sweat from nervousness and did not want to admit to it.

"No!" Upon screaming his lie, the infamous boot flew back in and repeated the earlier events. The two winced at the high groan Keith made, while Luke was now choking over his own guffaw.

"It... wasn't even me..." Keith muttered through pain tears. Taking the moment as his escape, Marcus rushed to his room to get ready for the day and hoped Luke was as well. If he ever stops laughing.

* * *

><p>"Why do we have to walk again?" The young Lupine asked as he looked at the smaller fox beside him.<p>

"Maybe because the only people I trust driving are staying home at the moment." The fox sighed as they walked. Luke may be a great pilot, but his style was that of a Hotshot, so his driving is the same, and Marcus wanted to get to the academy in one piece and without a ticket.

"That hurt my feelings..." The young lupine put on a fake pain stricken face. Marcus couldn't help but laugh at the usual joke from their childhood.

"So, how are you and Keith doing, getting along real well?" The blue fox asked, wanting to catch up with his best friend. Despite living in the same house now, Marcus still hasn't gotten to speak with Luke one on one.

"Yeah, you can say that, REAL well." Luke chuckled, but the young fox was lost.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, we're getting lucky the past few nights..." Marcus froze in his tracks, from what he remembered, getting lucky was something to do with what Luke wanted at the party. Putting the context and applying it to Keith.

"You mean...?" The young Lupine noticed that the fox wasn't by his side and turned to look at him in a panicked and confused state.

"You ok?"

"Answer my question and I'll answer yours..." The fox's tone trembled a bit, heart racing as he awaited for the answer.

"Me and the human have been fucking, nothing more nothing less." Luke shrugged it off as if it was nothing, but he never expected it to anger his best friend, still didn't believe it when the fox's fist connected with his jaw. Having not been ready for the violence, Luke plummeted to the concrete, looking up to see the rage in the fox's eyes. "What the hell was that for?!"

"He has a girlfriend, you can't do that to Eleanor!" It was the obvious reason, but not his own reason to resort to punching his best friend. The black haired lupine sat up and still looked up at the fox, light blue eyes squinting at him.

"Sorry, but most of it isn't my fault, it's happened more than once, and Keith was very responsive and willing, part of it is also his fault for keeping the relationship with her." He brushed his hand through his hair and dusted himself off as he got up.

"What do you mean?"

"The day of the party when Keith and that chick got back together, did he look happy?" With that said, the lupine walked on his own, leaving his best friend behind to ponder over the facts.

Keeping the last sentence fresh in his mind, and going back through the images of that night, he saw a faint look of disappointment in the human's face along with sadness and despair, all hidden under a slight grin.

* * *

><p>After Marcus and Luke had left for their classes, Jacob placed the human in bed and made sure to shut the door. He help but snoop around the room of the mechanic to find objects of interest.<p>

"How are you holding up, Keith?" The husky asked as he looked through the closest to find many jeans, dress shirts, and jumpsuits. One thing he noticed was a lone hat, nicely placed on top of a box.

Hearing a groan, Jacob turned to get a look at the human. His eyes tightly shut but still conscious based on the rise and fall of his chest.

"Fuckin' boot man..." He muttered, wondering how the hell Wolf was able to hit him dead on the second time. The husky picked up the hat and inspected it, a red cap and brim with a logo of a tow truck that was also red. Opening the box, he found several pictures and began looking through them all. The first that caught his eye was that of Keith along with two other men. One being a brunette, the other having raven black hair. Keith wearing the same hat that sat a top the box. The brunette man wearing a similar hat, only blue colored scheme.

Looking through other photos, one of the whole family of brothers, and yet no parents. Another of Keith with Roy along with the brunette man and a younger looking boy that had the same light brown hair smiling wide next to the younger brother. Roy having a small blush on his cheeks but still managing a smile.

"Wonder is this has anything to do with the friend visiting..." The husky was glad to have found more insight to the redhead's past, great timing as weel, seeing as he did not want to dwell on the topic of Luke and Keith's relationship together.

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><p>The fox sighed as he waited to see the Dean. After freaking out and punching his best friend, Marcus was not in a great mood. It stung that he hurt his own friend due to jealousy, but he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't in control at that moment.<p>

"Marcus, the Dean is ready to see you." Now that he remembered the 'idea' to get the academy money, the fox's legs felt as heavy as lead. He blushed as he walked into the office and took a seat, getting forced to make eye contact with the Dean.

"Mr. McCloud, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Marcus breathed in a gulp of air and exhaled deeply.

"I have an idea to raise money for the live dogfights..." He trembled as the idea was getting closer to being revealed.

"Well what is it? Don't let me die of old age first before telling me."

"Well, it was actually Wolf O'Donnel's idea..."

"Is it legal?" The fox nodded his head, still shaking and heart beating in his throat.

"To help raise up the Credits, we should make a website containing... modeling pictures of the students... and sell subscriptions..." Marcus hung his head, feeling ashamed to voicing the fundraiser. The Dean stayed silent for a full minute before pushing the frame of his glasses back to it's rightful spot and coughing.

"You mean... Porn?"

"Not porn if the privates are hidden..." The fox reused Wolf's counterargument to the same question.

"Put up a sample site with a few individuals, if it works, I'll allow you to continue with it and take photographs of anyone in the academy. But I must assure you, do not turn it into pornography..."

"I won't..." The fox felt all the blood rush to his head.

"You may go now."

"Thank you..." Marcus rose from his seat and exited the office, still shaking nervously. "Now I gotta get sample pics... Great."

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><p><strong>Beware Wolf and his boot... Nuff said. Anyways, this chapter was more of comedy, but it had it's serious moments and past revealed. Hope ya guys enjoyed!<strong>


	18. Chapter 18: Mission Prep

**It's official, if this story was a person, it would be legal to have sex with! I cannot believe I just wrote that! Anyways, sorry for the wait, problems with stuff, but here's the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I feel the need to warn everyone about the amount of fur and flesh that will be described instead of a disclaimer. Hurray for Fanservice!**

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><p>After classes were done and over, Marcus searched aimlessly for his best friend, wishing to apologize for the punch earlier and maybe be truthful about his reason for doing so. Though it was harder than it sounded, the campus was large and it occurred to him that he had no idea where the mechanic branch of the academy was located at.<p>

The search was frustrating enough, now he couldn't help but feel anxious being alone among the people that would always torture him. No one was by his side at the moment to protect him, and bullies take any chance they get to hurt the weak. The fox stopped for a moment and surveyed the crowds, only to get picked up off the ground by his hair. His scalp was burning from the tension in his locks of hair. He gripped both hands on the arm that clutched his head to lessen the tension, and possibly find a way to get out of this predicament with a reversal, but no such luck.

"Looks like the prodigy is on his own today, got no one to protect ya this tim-" Before Marcus could comprehend the words and even notice the cut in mid sentence, he felt the hand that held him suspended tremble.

"You so much as pull a hair off his head, I won't hesitate to slit your throat and cut your dick off to fuck your throat with it." (... I can't believe I just wrote that...)

Relief washed over the blue fox as he felt the burning fade away along with his feet touching solid ground, he turned around to see that his bully was being threatened by Luke. The young Lupine being behind the Tiger bully, holding two separate knives, one being held to the throat, the other grazing the lower regions of his pants. The Tiger's face being terrified and apologetic only to save his own self from harm. Luke's expression was a bit hidden behind his black dyed hair, but a wide smile could be seen.

"Now get the fuck out of here and change your pants." The knives were drawn back while the young lupine kicked the bully to the ground. The Tiger stumbling to get up and run away. Marcus watched the Tiger turn tail, but directed his sight back at his best friend. Clear light blue eyes stared at him with a shine that he never knew existed for Luke. "You ok?"

"Yeah... I'm fine."

"Come on, let's head home." Luke took a hold of the fox's wrist, keeping a firm grip but otherwise not hurting his friend. The two didn't speak a word the entire walk. Marcus was too shocked from the serious look in his eyes that had no sign of his old friend. Though he knew it was still Luke on the outside, but his personality had taken a 180.

"Luke... I'm sorry..."

"What for?" Marcus nearly flinched from the sharpness and speed that the question had.

"I'm sorry for punching you this morning..." The young lupine stopped in his tracks and ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he did so. He turned around to look at his childhood friend, face still stoic from earlier.

"It's my fault, I always have to cause trouble, it's the only thing I'm ever good at..."

"No, it's my fault... I haven't exactly been truthful either." The fox wished he hadn't added his last statement, he just hoped that Luke would let the whole thing slide and continue back to how everything was before this morning.

"What do you mean?"

"FUCK! I was hoping you wouldn't ask!" The fox blushed and covered his face with his free hand, the other still in the grip of the mercenary's child. The color returned to Luke's eyes, as well as his famous mischievous grin.

"Aw c'mon, ya gotta tell your best friend, what is that your hidin'? I won't quit until you tell me." The young lupine was enjoying seeing the fox blush from embarrassment. He was truly sadistic for even teasing further.

"Alright... Just don't tell anyone, ok!" The fox was a brighter crimson as he watched his friend shut his mouth and have an eager face. One that really made Marcus even more nervous to explain. "I... I..."

Just as he was about to explain, a car honked for no apparent reason and Marcus messed up his words. "I LOVE EATING SUNFLOWER SEEDS!" The expression that Luke had at the moment could only be described as a 'Fucking kidding me?'

"I hear they're very nutritious." The young lupine mocked and walked off, stuffing both hands into his pockets.

"That's not... What I wanted to say..." The fox ran over to catch up to his friend and hugged him from behind.

"I think I'm jealous of you." Luke smiled warmly as he felt the fox's arms tighten around his waist. Though he was a bit sadden to hear that he was part of the problem. "When you said you slept with Keith... I just lost it, I took my rage out on you and blamed it on something that even I don't care about. I think I love Keith."

Luke felt the strings pulling his face into an even wider smile. He turned his body around to return the hug and rubbed Marcus' back in a comforting motion.

"It's fine, I'm sorry if what we did hurt you, I'll make sure he doesn't so much as get a kiss from me anymore. Want me to tell you how big he is?" The blue fox felt the blood rush to his head and he wanted to spontaneously combust.

"No! don't tell me!"

"Oh yeah, and when you finally get in bed with him, make sure to-" Marcus covered his ears and attempted to drown out the older lupine, even going as far as to walk away. But somehow, Luke's voice would permeate through his barriers and make their way into his brain.

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><p>"So tell me about your family." Jacob asked as soon as he got done searching through the human's belongings. The husky only wanted to verify what he had found and shed more light to most of his conclusions. Over the hours, Keith managed to get over the pain, but chose to stay in bed as to prevent any more damage to himself if he ever ran into Wolf in the house.<p>

"Not much to say 'bout us."

"And why is that?" The husky continued to pry.

"Well... Me, Roy, and Paul are the only ones left in the whole family." Keith stared back at the husky and sighed heavily. "Please don't ask, I really don't want to relive it..." Jacob nodded in understanding. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps heading up the stairs, and just as he predicted, Luke and Marcus were home and came to check on Keith. Marcus was the first to enter and sat at the front of the bed.

"You feeling better?"

"Much better, I can actually move now." He chuckled but stayed in bed.

"Every get ready!" The voice of Wolf caused everyone to flinch and stand up at full attention given to the mercenary that stood in the doorway. "I need a couple ends tied up and can't do it alone. Before you ask, Panther and Leon are already busy on their own troubles, so I'm stuck with you four."

Marcus was nearly sweating bullets. And now realizing that many rules that were set in this household were bound to get broken and or had a loophole. Seeing as Luke disregarded the law of underage drinking and took them to a party instead of throwing one. Now being forced to go on a mission with a mercenary when it was prohibited to do anything illegal, which knowing Star Wolf's past bounties and track record that this possibly was against the law.

"We have to take down a few criminals hiding out downtown, so we won't go far." He grinned and gauged the reactions to all of his temporary teammates. Marcus was as nervous and scared as always by the news. Keith remained stoic, yet glaring a bit at him. Jacob remained unfazed and waited patiently for an order. Luke was beaming with excitement.

"Well what are we waiting!? Let's gear up and go!" After declaring his impatience, the young lupine ran out of the room to somewhere to prep for the mission.

"Follow Luke and grab a weapon, I'll meet you all down at the garage." The remaining three nodded in understanding and began to pass Wolf out the door, though he stopped the blue fox. "If your scared that you'll get hurt, then put that fear to good use, pup."

"What do you mean?" Marcus stared wide and felt his blood turn frigid just by the mere stare from the older lupine.

"If you don't want to die, then try and survive, fear can fuel you to live in the midst of a warzone. Besides, I got a present for you when we get back. Now go get in gear."

The fox gulped but nodded, leaving to find where his friends had gone off to. After searching the entire first floor, the fox found the armory which Wolf wanted them to find. Thousands of weapons were set along each wall of the room, even having cases set up for countless accessories.

"Hurry up and pick somethin' Marcus, we've been waitin' on ya." Keith called out, emerging from behind a case with a large knife strapped to his belt and standard Pistol resting on the other side. Luke joined him as well, though he seemed both underdressed and underprepared.

The black haired lupine only wore his casual hoodie and jeans, nothing strapped to his belt or any indication of a weapon. Though knowing all the sneaky antics of his best friend, he was probably heavily equipped underneath his calm demeanor.

"Alright, but where's Jacob?" marcus asked, scanning through the Blasters for a suitable weapon.

"He's already left for the garage, he grabbed a shotgun and said he was done." The statement puzzled everyone, seeing as someone as intellectual as him would settle with just the most beloved type of gun anyone would get.

After much needed planning and thought, the fox decided to chose the exact same blaster his father owned, along with a few simple combat designed G-Diffusers.

"Alright, let's go." Marcus smiled, a bit over the anxiety from before. _'Thanks Wolf, I needed those words.'_

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><p><strong>yes, ended at somewhat of a cliffhanger. And I'll leave you guys guessing on what Wolf wants to give Marcus after a successful mission. Hope ya guys didn't mind the wait and enjoyed the chapter.<strong>


	19. Chapter 19: Unusual Positioning

**I really don't want to change the story to M, so I'm gonna try and tone down the swearing a bit... At least three per chapter and not all over the place. (Though it might get used up all at once by a certain light blue eyed wolf) But I must keep it T. Anyways... **

**Disclaimer: NINTENDO, Y U NO MAKE NEW STARFOX GAME! OR METROID, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT!**

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><p>As Marcus walked into the garage, he couldn't help but notice that this was the first time ever going into here. Keith always kept his car parked in the driveway and probably never even set foot in the garage as well 'til now. And now he knew why Wolf's cars were kept in the garage.<p>

There were no cars, it was full of Motorcycles of all shapes and sizes.

"Welcome to my collection, each is fitted with different 'personalities'." Wolf chuckled, adding an emphasis on Personalities. For which made the young fox afraid to even be a foot next to one of them.

"So we actually get to take one?" The blue fox asked, still keeping the distance away from the collection.

"Nope, I brought you here to see if you can actually put your chosen weapons to good use." The mercenary stared at the shotgun in Jacob's hands, he locked eyes with the husky and nodded with approval. "Smart choice, kid."

Laying his line of sight to scan the pistol and knife strapped to the human's belt. Without any warning, Keith managed to pull both out and held both up to older lupine's throat, all done in a matter of seconds. "So whatcha think?"

"I think, you're gonna get more scars on your face if you don't back off." Keeping his signature playful smile, the redheaded human walked back and joined his friends. Marcus noted that Wolf didn't even so much as look in the direction of his son, possibly knowing all the equipment he took and already knowing the extent of the young lupine's limits. "So what did you get, pup?"

The young fox stiffen up and held the blaster up, also rolling up the sleeves to his jacket to reveal black gloves with a strange gray pattern lining the fingers. As well as a Combat G-Diffuser strapped to his pants.

"Nice choice on accessories, but can you really aim with that thing?" Turning his back and walking to the end of the garage, Wolf left the others wondering what he had planned.

"What are you doing?" Marcus finally asked, shaking as he felt that anything could happen at the moment.

"I want you to shoot me." He states, the husky and human stared wide eyed.

"I can't shoot you!" He protested but in return was given a glare along with crossed arms.

"As I told your father years before, when the time comes, don't hesitate, just act. You never know what can happen on the battlefield, so be prepared for anything." At this same moment, Keith couldn't help but be torn between calling Wolf the best mentor ever or just a plain psychopath.

Letting the words echo in his mind and leaving an imprint, the blue fox brought the standard blaster with his right hand, still trembling a bit even as the shot already left the gun and missed the mercenary by a full three feet.

"Someone has bad aim." Luke snickered at the far off miss.

"No matter how hard I tried, I could never hit the target..." To prove that it wasn't a fluke, Marcus switched the blaster to rapid-fire and unleashed a barrage of blasts, around 20-30 that all missed their mark. The whole wall was blackened by the burns and smoking, though it left a rather comical untouched silhouette of Wolf.

"Damn... You really suck." The young lupine replied as he stretched in place. _'Thank you Luke, that really makes me feel better...'_

"Maybe it's because you're using the wrong hand." Jacob added, finally speaking. "I've noticed that you seemed to have trouble writing with your right hand and seemed to lead with the left more often than right." Upon hearing the input, the fox stared at his right hand still clutching the Blaster and shaking a bit. "To be able to aim well, you need to switch to the more dominant hand and even better it by finding certain positions that makes you feel more comfortable holding it."

Doing as instructed and switching hands, Marcus began to hold the Blaster in various positions, while doing switching between positions, the others could see a large change in pace from when he held it right handed. Eventually, Marcus smiled as he spun the Blaster in his hand, took aim and hit Wolf directly in the sternum. Had the mercenary not wore his gear, the shot would have left more than a bruise.

Though it was amazing that Marcus managed to finally find his aim, what shocked them most was the positioning of his Blaster and hand. Marcus was holding the gun upside down with his pinky wrapped around the trigger. Smiling widely as the smoke billowed out of the barrel.

"You just shot my dad... With your pinky!?"

"Was that spin of the Blaster necessary?" Jacob asked, feeling a bit puzzled as to why it was needed.

"Don't argue with it Grey, spinning your weapon before attacking increases damage by 200 percent." Luke shot back, though the others didn't really understand what he just said. "What...? No one plays Fire Emblem here?"

Ignoring the question that was asked, Wolf began to walk out and patted Marcus' head. "Good work, now let's head out, we only got an hour to do so, and we need to go on foot since it's more of an assassination of a large group."

"Why do we have to do it in an hour?" Keith asked, quickly following him.

"Don't ask questions, just go."

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><p>After taking to the streets, the small band of mercenaries traversed the streets with weapons in plain sight, aside from the lupines who virtually looked unarmed. But nonetheless, they had a job to do and they (practically Wolf) was being paid to do a job and as long as that job was done he would be paid no matter how much damage is done to the public.<p>

Though eventually they made it to the targeted location. Wolf directed everyone to a warehouse window, slouching against it like it wasn't a big deal that he was about to murder some criminals.

"Alright temporary Star Wolf members and Luke. Inside this warehouse are up to fifteen baddies, kill at first sight, or if you feel someone deserves a second chance, only fatally wound them so that it's harder for them to fight back if they're still rotten to the core." The mercenary leader advised and peeked inside the window. "And try not to die by the hand of these idiots, I can tell they're mainly all talk."

Before any could form a plan, or let alone peek through the window to get a look at what they were up against, the younger lupine leaped into the widow and shattering the glass and ran in, avoiding laser fire as if it was nothing. And just as the young fox suspected, the lupine was armed underneath his clothing, slipping out from his sleeves were two large daggers, one being double edged and the other being singular.

Luke was easily zipping under the fire and easily disposed of two criminals with a stab straight to the heart causing immediate death, and slicing the throat of the other, causing a more slower death by bleeding out.

"Well what're we waitin' for!?" Keith cheered as he followed Luke's example and leaped through the broken window. The human pulled out both pistol and knife and steadied the aim of his gun by resting it on his arm and disarmed one thug, easily shooting the Blaster out of his hands and causing him to lose a few fingers, which wouldn't affect his way of living seeing as his life was cut short when Keith shoved his knife between the eyes of his foe.

Though he knew that this was a mission and such, Marcus couldn't but notice how nonchalant the human was about killing, he didn't even hesitate to jump in after Luke. Though the use of nonchalant was taken to a whole new level when Jacob walked in through the regular front door. Everyone stopped to look at him and even forgot the current situation.

"I'm here to kickass and chew bubblegum... And I'm all out of bubblegum..." Using the moment to bring his shotgun back in arms and fire unto the criminals, the husky actually made this killing of a criminal group into a joke. Immediately after his little performance, five bodies dropped after taking the full force of the shotgun blast.

"What are you waiting for, pup, go out and kick some ass." Wolf gave a reassuring grin and ran in to join the battle. Shaking away all the doubt remaining in his mind, he felt confidence fueled by fear envelope his own being. Following the lead of his friends, Marcus joined the fight and selected his first target and first ever kill.

Thanks to use of combat G-Diffusers, the fox was able to manipulate his weight to become lighter and allow him to run at a faster pace and dodge with finesse. The young fox even watched as the target struggled to land a shot on him, only for Marcus to eventually reach him, first thing the young fox did was uppercut the thug. The gloves also being modified to allow no recoil from hard hits. While doing so, the Blaster was switched to Charge, which was released and blowing off a good portion of the criminal's head. His first kill.

"Warehouse is clear, let's head home." Wolf called as he walked up the fox.

"Y'know, they say the first kill is the most difficult one..."

"I only killed one guy, but I've seen many get killed before this, so it won't bother me for that long." Marcus calmly stated, though his words were true.

"Now we got to get home and prepare for dinner." The last statement hung in his mind for a bit. _'Since when do we have dinner?'_

"And to answer your question, tonight since you're parents are visiting."

Awkward silence befell the entire warehouse for a full minute.

"WHAT!? Wolf, I just killed for the first time, it's on my mind and Mom will find out because she's a Telepath! And dammit we're all dead because she specifically said no missions or anything illegal and Luke's already been underage drinking!" Marcus was full blown worrying about the mess. Though it didn't help relax him when Luke began to shake him vigorously and yelling at him to calm down.

"Forget about it and book it back to the house, they'll be here at 7:30, it's why I put an hour cap on the mission, so we have time to prepare and clear our heads of today's events."

Wolf explained, though Marcus was still having a panic attack and speaking in fast sentences. Even after getting picked up and carried by Keith all the way back to the Manor.

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><p>Back at the Manor with fresh clothes that did not have fresh blood staining them, the group began to prepare the whole dining room for a feast and having the human prepare some dishes and food.<p>

"I didn't know you cooked." Luke admitted, watching while setting up the table.

"Mah lil' brother loves pasta, so it was cheaper to buy large amounts of the ingredients instead of buyin' enough of the stuff to feed a baby whale at a gourmet restaurant."

Jacob, while sweeping, noted that the youngster brother had an appetite for pasta dishes. Meanwhile upstairs, Wolf was trying to get Marcus to calm down.

"-And then she'll rip me apart, limb from limb!" The mercenary sighed deeply.

"Ya done?" It had already been thirty minutes on end that the young fox vented out the descriptions of the punishment he would receive. How this small prodigy had enough air in his lungs to go on for that long was beyond Wolf's capabilities and his interest.

"But is the mission out of your head?"

"No!"

"Then it's time I give you the gift." He grinned as Marcus sulked.

"What does a gift have to do with th-" The fox's eyes widen as he felt Wolf's lips contact his for a split second. A very short kiss, but still the first ever Marcus had ever received from that wasn't from family. Though downstairs the three knew something was up seeing as Marcus was no longer yelling.

"Now you're not thinking of it." The mercenary grinned and left the room. As soon as the door shut, Marcus fell over in his bed, blood burning up his cheeks and causing every and all attempts to form a coherent thought.

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><p><strong>X3 That's all I have to say about that. Oh man, I seriously make Wolf evil and devious in this, and I do anything and everything to make Marcus even more awkward than before. I just love it... Though it was very short, a thirty or so mercenary just kissed the underage son of his rival... Who would've known? Anyways, sorry for the late, hope you enjoyed.<strong>


	20. Chapter 20: The Dinner

**I'm so ready for this chapter, I hope everyone reading right is too, so many questions to be avoided and mind probing to be done. *dreamy sigh* I love this job...**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Starfox, Fox and Krystal would still be canon, but not without that onesided Wolf and Fox!**

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><p>With the food cooked and ready for serving, and the others getting dressed nicely enough for the mercenary couple not to doubt the living conditions of Wolf's home. Though Luke needed a lot of bargaining to wear anything that wasn't torn, explicit, bland, or all three. The young lupine actually had to borrow a dress shirt from the human along with some jeans.<p>

"Ugh, why do I have to dress fancy?" He complied, though his argument was very low considering a simple dress shirt and jeans isn't really close to fancy, just casual.

"Because we don't want to piss off a merc." Keith replied, implying the wrath of Krystal when she discovers the mission, and far worse, Marcus taking a life.

The three were taking their own precautions to help get that memory out of their heads, each with unique techniques. Jacob, being the intellectual and tactical person was reading a book and even so solving random equations in his and trying to apply the energy from a potato to be used as a weapon. (... Just go with it... I don't even #$%in' know)

Keith had invited Eleanor, hard to think of death when someone you, somewhat, love is by your side. As for Luke, the husky joked that his mind would be safe seeing as it would be empty. Which resulted in another argument which lead to the young lupine to blow off steam by juggling his knife. A feat that could only be done with extreme concentration, Keith a look at Jacob, which the husky confirmed was his plan from the start.

Though they wondered how Wolf was going prevent getting mind probed for himself and the blue fox.

"I have a feeling that no matter what, this dinner will not go by without the table being flipped." The husky shared his thoughts.

"We at least gotta try and sugar coat the truth, it's not Marcus massacred them, he only blew off the head of one guy." The redheaded human explained, though the husky closed his book and looked at Keith with a deadpan expression.

"You do realize that what you just said doesn't exactly make the situation better?" Had a person not knock on the door, the human would have cussed him out for being a smartass. The dyed black hair lupine caught his knife between two of his fingers and proceeded to answer the door. But not without tossing the knife carelessly behind himself, which stuck into the wall behind him. When he opened the door abruptly, he stared at the panther girl and whistled.

"Whoa, hey sweetheart, you lost?" Her face expressed annoyance and the want to knee the lupine where the sun didn't shine.

"Asshole, that's mah girlfriend!" Keith yelled from the living room, knowing that he wouldn't have answered the door in that manner with the McCloud family.

Though he already knew that, Luke was trying to confirm if she was the type to cheat, which she clearly wasn't based on her disgusted look. He stepped to the side and allowed enough space for her to pass in, though with that much space, she still bumped into him, rather harshly. _"Alright, she may not cheat, but she is a bit vengeful.'_

The panther girl smiled warmly as she was embraced by the her boyfriend. Jacob took a peek from his book and noted most of her details and began piecing together an overview of her, which wasn't for any particular reason aside from having another thing to solve on his mind. Keeping the mind busy was his life's calling.

"So where's Marcus?" Eleanor asked, not recognizing any of the roommates and hoping to meet the famed Starfox child again.

"He's gettin' ready upstairs with Wolf..." Though that one sentence was enough to make him worry, the Star Wolf leader was starting to be the root of all his pain, and not just the physical, but the mental with worrying over his friend's safety. But that was not the least of his worries, he hoped that the city would be under some kind of attack just so that Kyrstal and Fox would have to cancel, or even if it was a menial thing like traffic jams. As if nothing could go his way, he felt the vibration of his phone, accompanied by the sound of it's ringtone. "Dammit..."

Everyone stared at the human as he didn't even show any sign of wanting to pick up his phone, it was as if he was purposely ignoring the call's existence.

"Aren't you going to answer that...?" The Neko Panther asked, breaking the almost awkward silence. Keith exhaled deeply just at the moment the chip tune stopped.

"It was mah lil' brother... I don't know how he does it, but he knows when I'm cookin' anything pasta, and immediately tries to get some..." Before any more questions could be asked the doorbell rang and the human shut his eyes painfully. "Twenty Credits says that's him..."

The young lupine approached the door while giving a fair warning to the others. "If he tries eating my serving of spaghetti, I'm cutting off his ear." His last words being at the moment he opened the door. "Oh, hello there Mr. and Mrs. McCloud." He put on fake cheeriness to cover up the threat he just said.

The famed mercenaries stared at the young lupine, both having heard his remark. "Good evening Luke... What was that about cutting off ears?" Fox asked, his wife giving off a glare as she attempted to intimidate him.

"I was just finishing a joke, I'll go get Marcus and my dad, you can come in and converse with the other dinner guests." He faked a fancy way of speaking and continued on with his act, everyone knowing he was doing it on purpose and just for the hell of it. Though in his way up the stairs, he managed to stealthily retrieve his knife from the wall without the parents noticing.

Upon laying eyes on the new guests, the Panther girl was filling up with excitement, not only had she got to meet the son of Fox McCloud, she was going to have dinner with him, his father, and mother. She could die now and have no regrets. And as any dinner would have gone, it started with the introductions. The first being those that have met before.

"Hello, Keith, Jacob." The blue vixen smiled at both. "I trust that life at the academy is swell?"

"Yes Ma'am." The human returned the smile, but the husky remained glued to his book.

"Yep." He replied a bit dully, which who could blame him with his intelligence and skill, the whole academy was bellow his skills.

Upstairs, the young lupine past his father on the way up and quickly exchanged a glance that explained the situation without a word. As Luke continued to the blue vulpine, he found that Wolf left the door wide open and Marcus staring blankly at the ceiling as if trying to burn a hole through it.

"Ya got five minutes to go down and see you're parents again, use that time to listen to a song and get it stuck in your head." As fast as he had come, the young lupine was back down the stairs.

Marcus sighed as he lifted himself off the bed and to his drawer, retrieving his headphones and immediately plugging them into his phone while he searched for a song. After a quick thought, the blue fox found himself typing in Lost Time Memory, the very same song Keith's younger brother had gotten them to agree to sing with him. _'Already got the lyrics stuck in my head, might as well get the song as a whole'_

Laying his head down as the song began. He could just watch the video, but he felt that he wanted to just use memories in place of the song's visuals. He closed off his green eyes to the world and began absorbing the instruments used and finding the right timings for the lyrics. Pretty soon, he found himself reciting the words as the song played. After two repeats, the young vulpine found his smile and rose from his bed. Making sure to stretch and straighten out his clothing to be presentable. He breathed in a gulp of air and exhaled calmly, walking out of his bedroom and down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom of the steps, and looked at all the familiar faces, including Eleanor who he didn't expect to see. Marcus smiled as he saw both his parents in front of him. Thanks to pushing negativity to the back of his mind, the blue vulpine was happy to see both of his parents. It was much like when a child returns home after summer camp, only with mercenaries and a army academy.

"Hey mom, dad." Marcus smiled as he greeted both parents, making his way to them to get a warm hug.

"Good to see you again Marcus, Wolf hasn't been rough to you, has he?" The Hero of Lylat asked, from the corner of his eye, he found said rival was shaking his head with a grin.

"No, he's been surprisingly nice." Had he not blocked out all the bad memories, Marcus would not have been able to say that with a straight face.

"Now that everyone's here, we can eat." Wolf announced, leading everyone to the dining room, all the food already served and table set.

The seating at the table was rather typical and understandable. Fox and Krystal sat beside each other, Marcus getting the seat beside his mother. Wolf getting seated directly across from the older vulpine, Luke seated next to him. And to the young lupine's verbal dislike, seated right next to Jacob. And finally, Keith seated beside Marcus and across from his girlfriend.

Everyone began eating their Spaghetti in silence, the sound of forks scrapping on the plates being the only sound to fill the room. But with the silence, there is bound to be the person who breaks it.

"So Keith, I heard you're one of the few humans that's been accepted into Cornerian Academy." Fox announced, looking over at the redhead. "What are you taking it for?"

The human was hesitant to speak seeing as it was The Fox McCloud, and based on his stupid streak, he feared he was going to say the wrong thing. He tugged on his collar a bit to lessen the heat of embarrassment.

"Well, I'm lookin' to become a mechanic and weapon designer." Keith forced a chuckle to escape his lips, hopefully to lighten his own tension. As quickly as the silence was gone, more conversation broke out, courtesy of Mr. McCloud.

"And what about you Luke?" The young lupine shrugged and seemed uninterested in the whole dinner.

"I already got the experience I need, but I'm on the same boat as Red over there." The meal continued with no interruption for a while, but eventually Fox had more questions to ask the human.

"So Keith, how was it coming to Corneria from Earth?" The redhead sighed, of all the questions to get asked.

"Honestly sir, I don't like answerin' about that stuff..." He placed his fork down and stared at the wall, keeping his gaze away from everyone.

"I'm sorry I brought it up then." The older vulpine apologized, hoping to bring back the cheer in him. The blue vixen stared at the human, finding a break in his mind and finding sorrow.

"Keith, bottling up emotions and memories isn't healthy." Krystal advised to him. "If you don't want to feel like that, you need to get it off your chest instead of hiding it under the rug."

The human stared down at his meal, rubbing his forehead with a free hand to hopefully alleviate some stress. The human had the full attention of everyone, and eyes melting into him.

"Fine..."

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><p><strong>:P Ending it at a cliffhanger.<strong>

**This would be one of the most anticipated moments, seeing as I always avoided giving out more than vague insights. And now it's getting brought to light. Well, anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21: Dinner Aftermath

**Well folks. Get ready for the chapter some have been waiting for to hear. And then the conclusion if Krystal finds out about stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't really have to say how I would make a sequel to the games, because Nintendo finally got off their asses and are making it!**

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><p>The entire household was still and quiet, waiting on the human to share what he always hid from everyone. The tension was building up, and despite agreeing to reveal all he had been through, Krystal still could not get through some walls he had put up. Taking one last look into Marcus' green eyes, the very pair of green that gave him a bit of courage, Keith sighed and immediately inhaled.<p>

"Back on Earth, 'sides me an' mah brothers, we had a younger sister. Lara was the last child before our Mama died." Closing off his tired blue eyes to the world, he could picture the younger sister, happy and bright as she always was. "Our father wasn't always the best, so Paul and I had to work hard to keep our younger siblings in a good home..."

With the short pause, everyone attempted to absorb what was just shared. Wolf managed to piece a few details from the vibe that he got from the youngest brother, the look in the black haired boy's eyes shown that he seen things he shouldn't, but from what Keith had shared, this couldn't have been what scarred the boy.

"Anything more, or are you done?" The older lupine urged the redheaded human to continue. For once, his son remained calm and quiet to give the man some space.

"I'm far from done... After years, Earth started headin' downhill. Crime was everywhere an' hardly any nice guys were left."

Jacob expected as much, he heard how corrupted most humans could be, yet humans weren't the only corrupt ones, he could list a few he knew in Lylat with twisted morals. Finding that Keith was discovering his voice again, the husky put his thoughts at rest to take notes and learn what made the Smith family act like they do.

"One day, thugs broke into our house, they took Roy an' Lara hostage while I was gone an' Paul was locked in his office." He stopped, as if choking over his words, fearing to say the next event. "When I got home... Cops had mah little brother in handcuffs, giggling like he heard the funniest joke ever... But the whole thing was bloody, Lara was cut up, and the thugs... Hardly anythin' was recognizable from 'em."

"Are you saying your little brother killed them?" Fox asked in complete shock, he hadn't expected anything this bad. Luke stared away from the certain of everyone's attention. He understood what had happened to Roy, young kid exposed to trauma and soon going insane. A lot can go wrong if you're exposed to too much violence at a young age.

"Not just killed, mutilated them." The younger lupine spoke out. "Go a little crazy, you don't just get revenge with death, you want to make them suffer, while enjoying every bit of anguish in their eyes." He shared, bringing a bit more light into the situation.

"Anything else, Keith?" The blue vixen asked, still unable to break through his barriers.

"We were given a choice... Let Roy go into their custody, or leave the planet entirely." From the mere fact that the human was here telling them this tale, it was easy to see what decision was made.

"I met your brother, he's so calm and boring." Eleanor spoke out, wanting to add more answers to the swirling questions in her mind.

"Easy, you keep the insanity in the back of your mind and try and remain tranquil." Luke answered yet another question on his own experience.

"Doesn't explain your behavior." Jacob took a risk at a small insult. Surprisingly, the young lupine did not respond with vulgarity or threat.

"I embrace insanity, it's like a warm blanket." He replied in a strangely calm manor. Which would have become the next center of attention.

"So, has your younger brother had a slip up in the time he's been here?" The Hero of Lylat asked, a bit curious about it.

"Naw, he's kept himself under control, but... Like Eleanor said, he's hardly any fun anymore, he has some emotion... But it's hardly how he used to be." He sighed, silently ending his tale and hopefully not be disturbed about this. The human felt his hand being caressed and a hand rubbing his back. Both Marcus and Eleanor were trying to bring comfort to him. Though, Keith didn't know which person was doing a better job at it.

"If you folks will excuse me, I need a breath of fresh air." Luke stated, walking out the door as fast as he had gotten up. No one stopped him, nor did they vocally question him.

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><p>After leaving out the front door of his home, the young lupine rounded the corner of the house and easily scaled the wall up to the window of his room. Retrieving a box from under his bed and promptly leaped out the window with ease. Walking through the streets, he kept the box firm in his grip.<p>

Retracing his steps from pure memory, he attempted to find the Smith home. After hearing that story, he had something to do. After a few miles of wandering the streets of the city, Luke managed to recognize a few houses and began his real mission. After snooping through the mailbox, he confirmed the house and began to sneak around to the side.

Taking a moment to peer inside the windows, the Mercenary's child found a lit room, and luck was on his side, it belong to who he was looking for. Throwing all subtly away, Luke opened the window and sat pulled himself in.

"Five seconds, start explaining or else your blood will paint the walls." The youngest Smith brother glared at the young lupine, who only smiled back at him.

"Calm down, I come bearing gifts." Luke reached into his pocket and tossed the box at the black haired boy, the teen caught it and was hesitant to open it, suspecting it to be a Trojan Horse. But after taking the chance and opening the box, he found a knife's gleam catching the light of the room. "I've heard from Keith that you suffer from some crazy tendencies, and I heard from my dad that you only had a kitchen knife to defend yourself."

Removing the knife from the case, the human found that it was engraved with the Wolfen's Insignia. He held it with wide eyes, gazing at the combat knife.

"So you're giving me a knife...?"

"I'm not done." Approaching the young man, the young lupine wrapped his arms around the human and gave him a hug. "It's hard trying not to snap, but sometimes you need to let it out, if you dam up those thoughts, the more intense the next slip up will be."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't want you to end up like me." He sighed in discomfort. "You'll hate yourself if you ever push someone you like away because of stupid twisted thoughts. Laughter is the best medicine, laugh and smile through most times, even during an argument, and you won't have as much crazy thoughts."

Upon his advice, Luke heard a small chuckle from the boy. "Your fur is soft."

"Good boy, you learn quick." The light blue eyed lupine grinned and stared at the wide smile on Roy. "Fun helps too, doing stupid stuff can get ya laughing in no time."

"Alright, I will." Luke backed away from the human and petted the human, eliciting another round of laughter from him, afterwards he approached the window. "Thank you."

The lupine grinned again and waved as he made his way back home. Heart feeling a bit eased from preventing another monster from going on around town.

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><p>After apologies were given to the redheaded man, despite admitting that it was not needed. The rest of the dinner seemed uneventful and normal. Things seemed normal for the O'Donnel Household. With the tension of a horrible past gone and over with, the Mercenaries were able to relax and enjoy the dinner with their son.<p>

"The food is delicious, who cooked it?" Fox asked, already finishing off his second helping.

"I did, sir." Keith replied, taking his plate away and washing it in the sink.

"You are an amazing cook, maybe a bit better than Krystal." Upon mention of the vixen, Krystal gave a stern stare from the corner of her eye. "Maybe." He corrected himself, hoping it would not upset his wife.

"I didn't even know he cooked this well." The panther girl smiled as she placed her fork down. Marcus felt stuffed and wanted desperately to pass out in the chair.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm heading back up to my room. It was nice having dinner with you two, Mr. and Mrs. McCloud." Jacob stood up and bowed before heading back upstairs.

"He's still a strange young man..." Krystal muttered to herself. The sound of another chair moving slightly caught her attention.

"I'd say this was a nice dinner, let's not do it again." He grinned as he looked at the clock. "You two should head back home, don't want to keep Mercenaries away from their jobs for too long."

"As much as I think we should stay for dessert, he's right, Krystal." Fox began as he rose from his seat. Wolf grinned, liking the fact that his 'never again' comment went unnoticed.

"Right, then let's go." The blue vixen got up and gave her son a large hug. "I'm going to miss you so much." The young vulpine struggled to inhale some air from the force of the embrace.

"Mom... Can't breathe..." Hoping she would comply, Marcus struggled to get away.

"Sorry, can't blame me for being a Mother." She released her son and joined her Husband at the door.

"It was nice having dinner with you again, son." Fox smiled at his son, causing the young vulpine to smile in return.

"I should take yew home too, Eleanor." After finishing cleaning the plate, Keith took his girlfriend's hand and began to walk her out the door. Fox and krystal followed their example and waved goodbye on their way out the home.

"That went well..." Marcus smiled at Wolf, the Mercenary looked back at him and sighed.

"Three... Two... One-" A bit confused on the countdown, the young vulpine was soon shocked to see his mother walk back in, walking over to Wolf and delivering a loud and possibly painful slap across his muzzle.

"Next time, don't fantasize about having sex with my Husband. It is difficult enough with knowing you have the hots for him, but it is near impossible to keep a straight face when you have THAT on the mind."

And with that said, the blue vixen walked out the door and sighed. Marcus stared at Wolf, who was currently grinning and rubbing the side of his muzzle.

"You were thinking about having sex with my Dad...?" The young vulpine rubbed his head, the image scarring him for the moment. "Never mind... I'm going to go to bed..."

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><p>Though he was returning to his own home, he couldn't help but want to scale more walls and sneak into his own room. Luke took a few paces away from the wall of the house and sprinted towards it. Taking a leap up the wall, he grasped the edge of the window and pulled himself in. Though as he tumbled inside, he crashed into something.<p>

"What the fuck?" He cursed as he scrambled to the light switch, upon momentary blindness, the young lupine was glaring down at a pair of mismatched eyes. Why the hell are you in my room?"

"I was hoping to get to speak to you when you walked in... But you seem to go upstairs in a similar fashion as you go downstairs." He sighed as he took a seat on Luke's bed. The lupine's eye twitched, an simple OCD quirk coming up.

"Dammit, don't sit on the bed, I don't like it when the sheets get out of place until I sleep in them!" He pulled the husky off the bed by his collar and began to fix his sheets.

"My apologies. I didn't know." Jacob attempted a bit of damage control.

"Of course you didn't know, that's all you ever do! Just get out!" The husky flinched at the angry tone.

"Just let me explain what I wanted, and I'll go back to my room-" Luke cut him off even though his explanation was just finished.

"No! I don't just mean leave my room, leave this house! Leaving seems to be the best thing you do!" Luke hung his head and began to quiver, he was starting to reach a breaking point.

"Luke..."

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><p><strong>And you all thought they were safe... Nope, they are still going through some stuff, just not from Krystal. Anyways, hoped you guys loved the chapter.<strong>


	22. Chapter 22: Because you are Here

**Oh my Lord Death, I have been waiting for this moment for a while now, and so have a fun others. Ah screw it! Done with Author's Note to get to it!**

**Disclaimer: NO TIME! *shoves Disclaimer aside***

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><p>"Luke..." Jacob stared at the young lupine in front of him, about to explain himself to him.<p>

"Don't even start, it's just going to be the same lame ass excuse!" Luke yelled out, already throwing away the promise of allowing the husky to explain. His yell caught the attention of the only other two people in the house at the moment. Marcus being the first to reach the door, with Wolf right behind him with an ice pack being held to his face. When the blue vulpine looked at the Merc, he couldn't help but motion at the ice pack and demand through a stare an explanation.

"I can take a hit... But your Mother does not mess around..." Though it was a serious moment, Marcus couldn't help but have a smile from the need of an ice pack. The two dropped the topic and continues to eavesdrop on the husky and lupine.

"Then what do you want me to say?" Jacob took in a light breath as he awaited for Luke to reply. The young lupine gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Rage consumed his being and soon found himself pulling his arm back, it was an obvious action that the brown husky could easily see, yet he waited for his punishment. His fist connected, not at the stomach, not at his face, but at a specific object.

Glass shattered from the goggles' left lens. The pieces scattered to the floor while a few cut into Luke's knuckles. The fact that his prized possession was just damaged, Jacob could not comprehend the rest of Luke's fit.

"If you won't leave, then I will..." The angered lupine returned to his window and leaped out of it. Adrenaline keeping him from feeling his bleeding knuckles.

Tears burned down Jacobs cheeks as he cleaned the glass from the floor. From outside the room, both Marcus and Wolf could make out sobs, the Mercenary pulling the young boy into his own room just in time to avoid being questioned why they stood outside in the hallway.

After disposing of the glass and regaining his composure, Jacob made his way back upstairs and knocked on the home owner's door.

"Wolf, I have some bad news." He called while patiently waiting for him to open the door.

The Mercenary panicked for a moment and began to lead Marcus into his closet to avoid a bad looking situation. Afterwards, he but up a false groggy appearance and yawned as he opened the door just enough to see the husky.

"I'm sure from what you heard, that you know your son left..." He kept his gaze away from the older lupine and tried to remain calm.

"Let him blow off steam, worst case scenario, I have to bail him from jail again." Wolf took notice of the broken lens on his goggles. "Hand them over."

"Excuse me?" The husky looked up to find that the Mercenary was indicating to his neck, the young man immediately backing away. He already had them broken, he was not going to let them get taken away just from a request.

"Those goggles, I made those years ago for Luke, I can fix 'em for you, I've been meaning to upgrade them a bit." The Merc grinned widely as the husky pulled the eye gear over his head and returned them to the original manufacturer. "You must be really special to him if he gave them to you."

He chuckled as he closed the door, making his way to the closest and finding that Marcus was looking through his clothes. "Wait ten minutes and then you can back to your room."

"Alright." The young vulpine replied as he continued to browse Star Wolf leader's clothing. "You have too much black and chains, hardly any color too."

"Last I check, you're not my mom."

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><p>Things had gone well, at least that's what Keith thought. He didn't really expect a conversation like that to happen, nor did he ever expect people to be sympathetic with him. Then again, they were not exactly normal people, his girlfriend, mercenaries, a prodigy, the next Sherlock Hound, and an underage drinker with a possibly mile long criminal record.<p>

He chuckled as most of them had just as bad pasts as he did. He already knew Luke was a street child, Jacob... Though he barely knew anything about the guy, anyone that jokes right before murdering people with a shotgun has to have a terrible backstory. Though he couldn't leave Marcus out of it, despite having loving parents, he's been put in a safety bubble.

"Kid might've experienced more livin' with us than his entire life..." He sighed as he drove home in silence. "What the hell..?"

Easing his foot off the pedal, the redhead peered out his window to find that a person was stumbling on the sidewalk. With a closer look, he found that this drunk man was none other than Wolf's kid. Rolling down the window, the human called out to him.

"Luke, what the hell are ya doin' out this late?!" The black haired lupine turned and revealed a grin, giggling uncontrollably while struggling to maintain his balance.

"Ey Keith! Guess who's drunk!" He held up an empty bottle, falling back to prop himself against a streetlight. Red tinting his cheeks, bright enough to be seen through his fur.

The human ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I guess Luke..."

"Ya guessed right..." Keith swore under his breath and put his car on park, soon emerging out of it and helping his friend into the passenger seat. Just as he resumed his position in the driver seat, the lupine fell over, resting his head on the human's lap.

"Luke, not in mah car, and not when yer drunk." He felt his embarrassment show on his face, and the tossing and turning of the lupine wasn't helping. "Now tell me why yer drunk."

"Don't get any ideas... Marcus won't let me anymore." Upon mention of the blue vulpine, the human immediately grew suspicious, enough to miss that his question was avoided.

"Wait, what was that about Marcus?!"

"It's all Grey's fault, that stupid bastard!" Keith leaned his head forward to hit the rim of the wheel. Finally realizing that he was not getting any clear answers from Luke in his current condition, then again, even sober the lupine would still prove difficult.

"Go ahead and vent, we got all night..." He closed his eyes, waiting for him to continue cursing the husky's name, but after five minutes of silence, he was starting to think that the black haired lupine passed out on him. "Ya alright, man?"

Looking down, he found that he was hiding his face behind his hands. After a moment, the redhead began to notice a wet feeling where he was resting his head. He began to theorize that the lupine was either crying, or drooling on his crotch. Keith was hoping it was the former.

"Jus' calm down an' explain what happened."

"Ok-k... Marcus likes you a lot..." Blue eyes widen to the point of disappearing into the whites of his eyes.

"Really?! Don't be pullin'' mah leg here!" Luke chuckled from his spot, and soon stared up at the man.

"You should break up with your fake girlfriend."

"Oh my dear lord... I can't believe Marcus actually likes me..." Keith, too happy from the slight news, ignored the current command and earlier gloom. Feeling giddy and joyful made him forget about Luke's despair.

"You should break up with your fake girlfriend." Luke repeated himself, soon bringing the human down from his happy thoughts.

"Shit... Forgot about ya, now back to why you were cryin' and drunk." Finally, the young lupine rose from his position and sat up in his seat properly.

"Just drive..." And in an instant, silence had found it's way between the two. Not even the roar of the engine could create enough noise to break them out of their trances. Eventually when they arrived back at the O'Donnel Estate, the lupine rushed out of his seat to expel his stomach contents in the driveway. Keith was thankful that he held in his vomit rather than let it out in his car.

With help from the human, Luke managed to get on his feet, both stayed by each other's sides and opened the door. Afterwards, the black haired lupine shook his head and ran up the stairs, leaving the redhead to stare as he ascended the steps. His haste alerting everyone else in the home for the second time that night.

Kicking open the door, Luke rushed in, throwing subtlety out the window.

"Luke, what are you-" The lupine's bangs sweeping over his eyes, concealing their intent. For once, Jacob couldn't read the emotions in his actions, they appeared to be from anger, but from the way his hung, it appeared a bit ashamed. Even so, the husky found himself paralyzed in place, unable to move from his seated position from his bed. Soon, the young lupine closed the distance and took a hold of the husky's collar, bringing him to stand. Despite being shorter than Jacob, Luke still had the strength to pin him against the wall. Strands of dyed black still concealing his eyes, even from the close view.

"I'm sorry!" He had broken the silence and possibly his own voice, the words coming out strained and shaking. "I'm sorry that I'm stupid, prideful, and overall a jackass. I'm too stupid to let things go, I can't even let you explain things because I'm too much of a dumbass to accept the truth!"

Soon the hand that gripped him was quivering along with the lupine's entire body. The hair brushing out of the way, red outlining bright blue eyes that spilled out tears. "But I honestly don't give a shit about any of that anymore..."

Without warning, the lupine leaned in to get closer to Jacob, closing the distance to bring himself and the husky into a kiss. One that he allowed and easily returned. Though after breaking apart, the brown husky ran his fingers through the young lupine's hair, trying to soothe him at the moment.

Their little moment was not private however, the door was left wide open due to Luke's 'Dynamic Entry', leaving their display as an open theater. Keith, along with Marcus and Wolf had witnessed the entire spectacle, the blue vulpine and redheaded human having a few questions.

"So why did they ever hate each other?" Marcus looked up at Wolf, who in turn grumbled. Though after a moment, the mercenary pointed at the blank wall.

"On this figure here, you can clearly see all the fucks I give... I've been woken up too many times in one night to care, just go to bed." With that said, the older lupine disappeared into his room. Marcus and Keith sharing a look and soon shrugging and following suit.

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><p><strong>When I wrote that last part, I was listening to Kimi ga Iru Kara (Because you are Here) And then everything started flowing through my fingertips like electricity when you touch an old TV screen... I realize that some people (Manly the newer generation) Will not understand that feeling if they had an HD TV growing up. At this point, I'm just feeling nostalgic... ya know what? I'm gonna go play Banjo Kazooie... Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.<strong>


	23. Chapter 23: Ditch Day

**Ditch day... Nuff said.**

**I just received word that the disclaimer I had has left upon hearing it was ditch day... Just go with it.**

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><p>An alarm rang out while the human groaned and nearly broke the clock upon hitting snooze. He felt lazy today, and didn't even want to rise from his bed. Though like always, he had to wake up and get ready for returning the Academy and working on the projects.<p>

"Damn it all..." Keith began to sit up in his bed, attempting to run his fingers through his messy locks, only to find that they were caught in tight knots. "Of all the days fer mah hair to get in the way..."

As always, the man walked over to his dresser and retrieved his brush, soon running it through his auburn red hair. Soon breaking the knots and getting his hair back to his regular messy look. "Finally..."

"Happy ditch day!" The all too familiar yelling of Luke rang in his ears, as well as the sound of the door colliding with the wall. The young lupine smiled at the human, which a smile from Luke could only mean trouble.

"What?" Keith simply asked, not sure how to even react to him.

"Ditch day, we don't go to classes and just do fun shit all day, so what should we do?" He sat himself on the redhead's bed and watched him sigh deeply.

"I think we missed 'nuff days at the Academy, I think by now would result in expulsion." The human did not want that, he spent too much time getting into the Academy to get expelled. It was then that a more logical voice answered his questions.

"We're free of any worry of expulsion, Marcus, Luke, and I have connections to stay inside in the form of our parents." The redhead looked towards the doorway to find the husky leaning against the frame. "You're safe due to being human and being able to file a lawsuit against them."

"How?" It seemed like all Keith could say for the day was simple one word questions.

"Do you see any other Humans attending Cornerian Academy?" The simple question resolved all the stupid questions lingering in his head, so all that was left was what he wanted to do for the day. His thinking process was soon interrupted when he felt the young lupine rest his head on his lap.

"Hopefully this jogs your memory and then you'll know what you should do today." It was then that Keith lightly shoved Luke off his body, and bed, to get up and do just what he wanted him to do. Ignoring the laughing lupine on his way out.

"Couldn't you be more straightforward in telling him instead of-" Jacob began only to get another round of laughter from him. Though he was confused on what the young lupine found funny, he was just glad he could be in the same room as him while he laughed. When the guffaw subsided, he was ready for a delayed chuckle so he wouldn't get interrupted again.

"Jacob Grey, are you jealous~?" The brown husky grumbled in discomfort and found the corner of the room to be interesting. A small blush spread across his cheeks and a sigh escaped his lips.

"... Very..."

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><p>After overhearing the 'Ditch Day' news this morning, the young McCloud found himself knocking on Wolf's door, soon getting a tired looking stare from him.<p>

"Whadya want, pup?" He asked with grogginess evident in his voice, a large yawn following. Due to last night's escapades, the Mercenary did not get the amount of hours of sleep he wanted.

"I wanted to talk to you about the whole... Money thing idea for the Academy." Marcus still found it difficult to even mention the idea, he was still too innocent for his own good.

"So no more, wait right there..." Afterwards, the older lupine disappeared into his own bedroom and returned with an envelope in his paws. "Here's the Credits you needed... Give it to the Dean whenever you want, I don't care."

The blue vulpine could only worry as he accepted the cash. He predicted that it had to do with something illegal or worse. "Wolf, how did you get this...?"

"Eh? Oh I uh... Did the 'modeling' myself, reached the Credits you needed instantly... Still am getting cash too." It then connected that Wolf had probably stuck to the porn subscription idea instead of just the shirtless modeling. The Mercenary did use quotations went leaned it to that theory, but then again, he assumed worse things that didn't end up like it.

"I-I uh... I feel dirty holding this money now..." With that said, the young vulpine walked away and could only hope that this day's events could erase this memory long enough to never worry about it.

After returning to his room, Marcus placed the envelope on the dresser and laid back on his bed. After a while a realization hit him. _'Maybe I could hang out with someone today instead of sleeping.'_

After the little thought, he rushed out of his bed just in time to catch his best friend. "Hey Luke, what are you going to do today?"

The black haired lupine smirked at the young boy. "Gonna get a haircut, then take Grey out for a movie. And for once, I'm actually going to watch the movie."

Marcus was honestly confused by what he meant from the last part, but it was enough to tell him that he's going to be busy with Jacob, and seeing as this was the first day they are together, he just didn't want to be the third wheel.

"What about Keith?"

"He went out already, don't wait for him... But when he does get back, you might want to talk to him." With that said, the lupine left Marcus to swirl with more questions. Just when he was about to give up hope, salvation came in the form of a call.

"Hello? Oh hey... Sorry, I've been through a lot of things these past few weeks, I've hardly had time to actually do things... Oh no, I'm free today, bring a friend? ... Sure, I'll see you there." The blue vulpine ended the call and smiled widely. _'Today, I'm gonna be a normal kid.'_

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><p>Marcus smiled widely as he made his way to the house. First on his to-do list was to pick up the friend, before setting off and doing whatever kids his age did. Though that thought did trigger a question. <em>'What do kids my age do...?'<em>

He decided to just go along with whatever happens. After a full minute of waiting, Marcus smiled when the black haired boy made his way out the door.

"So what are we doing today?" He asked, checking his pockets to make sure he had something only to sigh and interrupt the vulpine. "Hold that thought, forgot something." After another minute, the youngest Smith resumed his position next to Marcus and asked yet again.

"Oh, just going to hang out at a park with a friend I made a while ago." Marcus answered him, soon walking out in the direction of said park.

"What's his name?" Roy asked, tucking his hands into his pockets and gazing at the skies above.

"Micheal, he's a lynx, met him at the mall with Keith." The black haired human shrugged and continued to space out and stare at the sky, humming lyrics as the two walked together.

"Beasty gimmick gimmick, Knock out, Gimmi gimmi, Konomama kowaseretai knock down..." It was then that the young vulpine stared at the human with a blank expression. "Don't ask... Save yourself the therapy and don't ask."

Marcus shook his head while chuckling and soon found himself disobeying his advice. "What were you singing?"

"Luvoratory, I'll leave it at that because the lyrics are a bit... explicit. But damn does it get stuck in my head." He smiled and found himself humming the rest of the song. Marcus couldn't get a single thing he had said before, but the beat of the song was catchy.

"I just realized, shouldn't you be in school right now? I know it's ditch day, but would your brothers actually allow it?" Marcus felt his blood turn cold when he saw a smirk spread across the human's lips. It looked too much like Luke's mischievous grin.

"I got dirt on both Keith and Paul to be able to let this slide under the rug." The more Roy spoke, the more he saw Luke in him. The young vulpine wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Though he was fearful to ask, curiosity was eating him alive.

"Care to share what you know?" The human's smile only widen, a round of laughter coming from him.

"Let's start with Paul, guy has only slept with one person his entire life." Marcus couldn't help but chuckle, it was sad thought though. Only one person, then again he expected the number to be lower for some reason.

"Now what about Keith?" He felt his heartbeat quicken as he was about to hear the secret. He was even denying it anymore, the feeling had for the redhead is what he was calling love. Just from thinking about getting to learn something about him that few knew excited him. Made his heart feel like a weightless feather.

"Y'know how he has all those scars and everything?" Roy began, grin growing unnaturally wide upon Marcus' confirmation. "Well, usually, when he survives something fatal, gets another scar, or dodges a bullet, literally in one moment." The black haired boy paused for dramatic effect. "His adrenaline starts pumping and it makes him extremely horny. The guy just wants to have sex with something afterwards and usually does."

Never before had Marcus felt the blood rush to his face then from hearing that secret. "Dude, you're as red as red can get..." Roy commented on his flushed face. Marcus couldn't help but feel embarrassed from knowing that information. His mind was swimming in an ocean of what he suspected was either embarrassment or lust.

"Um... I-I uh... Um..." The young vulpine was stuttering and tripping over his words.

"Lemme give ya some advice, I can tell that you want him. The quickest way to my brother's heart... Is through music." The human boy began to pet the flustered Marcus. "If there's one thing that reaches him on an emotional level, it's music. You just have to find the right song."

"It's that easy!?" Roy feigned innocence and soon stared at him confused.

"I didn't say it was easy." Marcus pouted and stared at the human. "Don't worry, I'm rooting for you. Wouldn't want anyone else for my brother."

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><p>The human sighed as he looked at the window of the café, the clouds in the sky catching his attention. A reflection in the window snapping out of his daze to turn around and stare at the panther girl.<p>

"Hi, Keith." She greeted him with a smile, but he stayed calm and depressive.

Ey, Eleanor..." The panther grew curious as to why he was not as excited to see her.

"What's wrong, you look like you're in another planet mentally." The redhead stared at the tile floor and sighed, soon locking eyes with her.

"I'm sorry Eleanor... I don't think this is goin' to work out." For a full minute, or longer, time had seem to stand still for them after it was said and done. "Yer a sweet gal, yew got a great personality, and I'm jus'... I'm jus' not worth yer time."

"Keith..." Her eyebrows lowered as well as her lips. The good part of it was that she seemed to understand where he was coming from.

"Don't worry none 'bout me, I'll be fine. Yew need to live yer life, hell might even find a guy better than me." He gave her a forced smile and even caressed her cheek. She returned the smile and soon leaned in to peck his cheek.

"I won't forget you Keith, you were the sweetest guy I ever dated." With that said, she left café without ever looking back at the human. Keith rubbed his forehead and soon felt his on-edge feeling subside and calm down. The break up turned better than he anticipated. Then again, just like how she had stated, Eleanor was the sweetest girl he ever dated.

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><p>Later that evening, the human decided to spend the rest of his day playing his guitar on the couch. Mainly because Wolf didn't allow him to play in the upstairs room when he wanted to get his well deserved rest that was robbed from him last night.<p>

The redhead found himself playing simple chords and melodies and on occasion would switch to a full song which always felt incomplete due to the fact that he had no other instruments or vocals to compliment it. Though he stopped upon hearing the door open, he looked over to find Marcus.

"Hey Marcus, where ya been all day, I missed yew." Marcus felt his cheeks flush from the thought that the human missed him.

"I spent the day playing soccer with your brother and Micheal." The young vulpine walked over and took a seat besides Keith on the couch.

"Oh, didja have fun?" Marcus began to chuckle and fell over in the couch.

"Even though Micheal beat us, I had a lot of fun." Keith smiled down at the blue vulpine and soon strumming again. The chords came out smooth and soft, he was starting to think that Keith was trying to lull him sleep. To oblige to the human, Marcus yawned and closed his eyes, the soft melody helping bring him to dreams.

After succeeding in getting the McCloud child to sleep, the redhead left upstairs to retrieve the bed sheets from his own bed and returned downstairs to drape it over the sleeping fox. The peaceful look on his face was a picture perfect moment. Keith found himself kneeling down to get a closer look, a smile still firm on his face. He was too caught in his emotions to stop himself from leaning in. Before he was dangerously close, the human managed to push himself back and force himself upstairs. _'He still jus' a kid... I can't have him.'_

The redhead sighed as he ran a hand through his messy locks, soon striping off his clothes to reduce down to his boxers and leaped onto the bed.

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><p><strong>We are actually nearing the end of this story. Just a few more chapters, and hopefully you all enjoyed this story. But I'm getting ahead of myself, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.<strong>


	24. Chapter 24: Best Day Ever

**Don't worry guys, there will be a sequel. :D Just not an immediate one, and not T rated... *chuckles with a devious grin* Anyways, hope that news excites everyone.**

**Disclaimer: Just leave it to the Deities! ... I've listened to ****_that_**** song waaaaaaay too much...**

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><p>The young fox gulped deeply, trying to swallow all his nervousness away, but finding it to be a difficult task.<p>

"What the hell is taking them so long!?" The black haired human complained, hitting his head against the wall. "I am going to stab Luke!"

Marcus was worried before, but now with Roy making the threats, he was nearing the end of his rope. "I'm sure they'll be here..."

It was then that a loud thud caught his attention, the black haired boy having punched the wall with nearly all his strength.

* * *

><p><strong>Several Hours Earlier<strong>

After dropping off the money for the funds, the young fox was smiling from ear to ear as he made his way back into the classroom. The Dean said that he would send word to the other teachers and allow for an immediate test of their Flight Combat skills. His tail was swaying side to side in anticipation and excitement, he could finally show off to the other classmen his skills, prove his worth and better yet, prove he was worthy of the McCloud name.

Just as Marcus was reaching for the double doors, the whole class beat him to opening them and soon flooded the halls. The brown husky took a moment to brief him on the rush.

"The others are just as excited as you are to get in the cockpit." The blue vulpine could only laugh at the statement and followed the others. But he stared in concern when Jacob pulled him back. "Sorry to possibly burst your bubble, but some are too eager to fly, I overheard a few planning to gang up on you."

Before, the husky expected a worried look as well as a thousand yard stare, but he got a cocky determined expression instead.

"What's the bad news again? That only makes my blood pump faster from getting a challenge." Jacob felt a slight tug at the corners of his lips and fell into step with Marcus. By the time the whole group made it into the launch station, Marcus felt his grin must have rivaled Luke's.

"Alright class, as you know we can finally go through with the first dogfight of the year." Their instructor's voice bounced around the steel walls and echoed every now and then, causing a bit of discomfort for those with sensitive ears. "Our Arwings are design to switch to autopilot and return here when the shields have lowered to half it's energy. Know that this is not a competition of stays up the longest, but who takes out the most fighters."

"The reason for that is because Mercenaries get paid based on their kill count." Marcus whispered over Jacob, though the husky already knew that detail.

After a long winded explanation, which was more of a boring reteach of how to operate an Arwing, the young fox sighed and tapped his foot impatiently. But his "patience" was soon rewarded and the green light to board the many Arwings was given. Of course Marcus was among the first to jump in, excitement making him impulsively perform a midair somersault before landing in the seat. He hadn't expected to stick the landing, it was the first time ever trying a bit of style to a regular action.

Marcus immediately switched on the G-Diffuser after activating the engine. All the ships were set to autopilot remotely to take the battle to a safe distance fr/om the Academy as well as the city. By the time Marcus was allowed control, he could already see that Jacob was not kidding. All the other classmen were heading towards his direction, already having to evade their fire.

"Hah, amateurs." The young fox began to perform side by side loops as well as U-turns to throw off the enemy, in his graceful evasions, causing friendly fire.

"You're starting to act like Luke." Marcus only shrugged as he stared at Jacob's face appearing on the HUD.

"How did you know this was my channel?" He asked, finding the conversation a bit more amusing then the predictable attack patterns of the others.

"That's for me to know, and for everyone else to speculate." With that said, Marcus sighed but stayed attentive to whatever else the husky had to say. "You're going to have to fight back eventually."

Marcus only chuckled and performed a sideways loop, quickly diving down and switching directions to evade oncoming missiles.

"I got that covered, besides, a little guy as small as me knows how to get through the tight spots." By now he wasn't sure if the timid boy he knew before was the real Marcus McCloud, his attitude in the pilot seat was completely different from having his feet on solid ground.

"What was that maneuver you pulled off?" Again, the McCloud child flashed a cocky grin and chuckled.

"I call it the Cut Back Drop Turn."

* * *

><p>"What do you think Grey is doing?" Luke stared off into the distance with a blush on his face, the only thing that would make this moment an even worse cliché would be the scent of love choking innocent bystanders around him. Keith rolled his eyes and lightly tapped his head with a wrench. His long wavy locks now reduced to small lengths, as well as the color being back to his original. Which shocked everyone that the grey furred lupine somehow managed to have natural blond hair. It was such a strange combo, blonde wolf with gray fur, though it made sense when Luke had sky blue eyes.<p>

"Can we talk 'bout somethin' else, all you do is drool over Jacob now." The young lupine glared at the human and found his counterargument.

"I'll remember that if you start daydreaming about Marcus. That is, 'if' you ever get the guts to ask him out." It was then that Luke tilted his head to dodge an oncoming wrench.

"It's not an 'if and' situation, he's too young fer me, I could get arrested. And not ta mention I could be labeled as a pedophile, while Marcus gets his life ruined thanks to the nosey media." The human gave valid points, all that went in one ear and out the other for the young lupine.

"Dumbass, love is love, if you really care for him, you won't give two shits about what others think and just care about his happiness." Yet again, Luke had managed to get through his head and put his mind at ease.

"Whatever..."

After classes, the two mechanics found that the two pilots were smiling wide. After a brief explanation, Marcus recounted every detail of the flight and even how he managed to stay untouched while Jacob never missed a shot.

"I can see you _have _rubbed off on him, Luke." Jacob gave a soft chuckle while the lupine stared at the young fox with pride filling his being.

"You hacked into the Arwing to boost your laser fire, while performing the Cut Back Drop Turn at full speed?" The human and husky had a questionable stare as Marcus shrugged off the first thing listed.

"I did do our signature move, but he means that I was incredibly cocky in the skies." Luke nodded his head in understanding and made his way to take the backseat of the car, leaving the others to question the hacking comment. The others just entered the vehicle and drove home in silence, silence that was soon broken by a familiar ringtone.

"Dammit, I can't answer, I'm drivin'..." Keith sighed deeply as the song kept on playing while the others stared. "Will one of ya fish it out of my pocket?" A smirk spread across Luke's muzzle and he immediately brought Jacob's arm back to his side, leaving the only person to help being Marcus. Just because he knew the exact location of the cell phone and he wanted to see the process and aftermath of it all.

"Marcus, you do it, you're the closest." The lupine added, the blue vulpine was in the passenger seat in the front.

"Alright..." The young fox sighed and reached for the front pockets, oblivious to the blood rushing to the human's face.

"Um... It's in the back, Marcus..." _'Dammit Luke, I'm goin' to strangle yew...' _Keith quickly caught wind on the young lupine's intentions of suggesting that the McCloud child should fish his still ringing phone out. Marcus took a deep breath and dug into the back pockets, pulling out whatever he retrieved in hopes to end his embarrassment as soon as possible.

"I got-your wallet..." The fox's ears drooped, taking another deep breath and dug in again, this time around to make sure it was the cell phone. Though he was sullen when he did find it only seconds too late.

"Sorry, we missed it... It says that Paul was calling." Marcus avoided eye contact with the redhead, both having flushed faces from the trouble they went through for a miss call.

"Strange, he doesn't really call me for anythin'." After thinking it over for a moment, the human looked over at his side. "Call him back and talk to him fer me, please."

The young vulpine nodded and began to return the call, the dial tone sounding off periodically before the voice of the eldest Smith brother answered. Marcus began the conversation and soon ended it, smiling at the news.

"Your little brother's first performance is today, he was calling to remind you... Also said something about a friend of yours is staying in your old room..." The fox was confused about the last bit, but before anyone could question it, the human nearly made everyone deaf.

"Ellis is finally here!" With his excitement reaching the highest peaks, the redhead began to drive a tad bit reckless. Though he stayed safe with his speed and made it to his brothers' home. Jumping out of his seat and rushing into the home. The others slowly following and finding Keith laughing as he hugged another human with dirty blonde hair. The two old friends conversing incredibly fast, the other human also speaking in a southern drawl that caused Luke to cover his ears.

"Ah shoot man, it's been forever!"

"Way too long, I missed ya buddy!"

"Still our shop's hat?"

"O' course I still do!" At this point, the lupine, vulpine, and canine each stood awkwardly to the side. Marcus soon feeling an arm grab his shoulder and drag him away, still too stun to actually do anything about it.

"Ya want earplugs, I figured it might be Hell listening to them out there..." It was then that he was snapped back into reality and staring at the black haired human.

"Oh... No thanks, I kinda like listening to accents." Marcus smiled, noticing he was now in the young human's room.

"Well I for one am going to drown them out..." Roy smiled as he walked to his bed and fiddled with his laptop, music soon blasting from the small computer. "Much better... Ah Aro-san..."

"I'm sorry, I hardly understand half the things you say now..." Marcus sighed and sat on the bed, finding that he was watching a video performance. The singer being a brown wolf wearing a black short sleeve shirt with a yellow tie.

"I'm sorry, I just really like Aro, he's so great..." The young human smiled widely and enjoyed the music, though just like much of what Roy speaks, Marcus could not understand a single lyric. Hoping to get a few questions answered, the fox began to ask the human about their guest.

"Hmmm? Oh that's Ellis, Keith and him have been friends since like fourth grade, to the point that they both became mechanics and even ran shop together for a while back on Earth... But then as you may have already found out, shit hit the fan and now we're here." He smiled, which was beginning to unnerve the young vulpine again. "Why ya so curious about him?" The grin seemed endless in length and Marcus was beginning to wonder if it hurt to wear it that long.

"Nothing..."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

"No!" The blue fox clamped his own muzzle upon hearing the ear splitting crack in his own voice. A deep guffaw filled the room and drowned out the blaring music. At this point, Marcus was frightened, a crazy teenager laughing maniacally. "Alright fine, I saw them hugging tightly and I wanted to shoot him... Is that bad?"

"Define bad." The human instantly ceased his laughter and remained stoic. "Eh, that doesn't even matter, I gotta be at the school for a sound check and such to practice." The young boy stood up and approached his closet, taking out a black shirt, yellow tie, and jeans.

After quickly changing his clothing, Roy began to leave with Marcus following him. On their way out, the black haired human couldn't help but yell a comment as he left.

"Try not to get drunk Keith, don't want to end up in the hospital again." Marcus couldn't help but chuckle, but he noticed that a certain lupine and husky were missing. But at the moment, he dismissed it.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this, babe?" The natural blonde lupine asked, the term of endearment causing the husky's face to brighten.<p>

"I noticed a few cars earlier following us, no doubt they're after Marcus." Jacob was certain about his claim. "They might want more revenge after failing to shoot him down today." The husky stared at the lupine and sighed. "Go back to protect Marcus, I'll take care of these guys."

Luke grumbled and glared up at him, sky blue eyes burning at a strong intensity. "No way, I'm not leaving you to fight alone, I'll have your back."

"Luke, we can't leave him undefended-" Before he could argue further, the young lupine slapped Jacob in the face and kissed said cheek.

"He'll have Keith, and if not him for some dumbass reason, then his little brother will." Green and steel gray stared questioningly at the wolf before them. "That kid is dangerous, and as of two nights ago, armed."

The young husky sighed in defeat, but nonetheless flashed him a smile. "At least we'll be throwing punches at other people instead of each other."

"Yeah... Punches..." Luke shyly darted his eyes to the side. It was obvious that the lupine was going to use one of his many concealed weapons.

"Just try not badly wound them, if you do, maybe I'll give you a bit of a present later." Luke felt his mind swim with the possibilities and dirty thoughts.

"I'll make sure not to put them in the hospital then!" He gave a cheery smile back, the husky couldn't help but laugh at how bad he had Luke wrapped around his finger. The two soon set off from the doorstep of the Smith house and kept an eye out for the academy bullies.

The edges of the lupine's lips curled up as he caught notice of a car parked just a few feet from the house, the owners of the vehicle still in it, waiting for something. A plan formed in his head and Luke began to set it in motion as he walked by. Jacob however decided to watch from a distance.

The moment that Luke was beside the car, he pulled out a flask from the inside of his coat and took a swig from it, spilling the contents of it onto the windshield.

"What the hell, man!" The driver yelled at the mercenary child.

"So sorry, here, I know a way to dry that up_ real_ fast!" Without warning, Luke pulled out from his pocket a zippo lighter, flipping it open and lighting the wick. The lupine tossed the burning lighter at the drenched windshield, the whole thing catching fire. Those in the car immediately exited the vehicle and attempted to put out the fire, all while Luke laughed at what he had just done. _'I expected nothing less from him'_

Jacob smiled even as the men began to threaten the lupine.

"Ey, we can settle this like men, now let's go to a nice quiet park, and let fists fly." Luke proposed the idea, which by the excitement in the others, was accepted and agreed to. The husky rushed over and accepted to the terms as well. Each going out on foot to the nearest park.

* * *

><p>"So any thoughts on how you're gonna get with my brother?" The vulpine blushed as he stared at the ceiling of the auditorium of the human's high school. It just occurred to him that this was the first he ever set foot in a high school.<p>

"Do I have to make the first move?" The black haired boy stared at him with a deadpan expression.

"Marcus, Keith is incredibly oblivious to those who like him, so unless you plant him a nice kiss on his lips, you're not getting anywhere with subtle hints." Marcus couldn't but curse his bad luck. "Never mind, knowing you, you're gonna be stuck in the friendzone..."

Roy flashed him a insulting wink while sticking his tongue out, the action stirring a bit of resentment in the young vulpine.

"I'll make you eat those words, I'll do it today!"

"That's better!" The human clapped, Marcus then realized that the jab at the friendzone was supposed to stir courage in him to try. _'Ok, he is seriously starting to scare me at how easily he can manipulate me...'_

The blue fox sighed and both waited patiently for the performance. The crowd began to pour into the seats, Marcus could easily spot the redheaded human, still sticking close to his best friend and older brother. But the black haired boy was throwing a tantrum over how late both the husky and lupine were.

"Ten more fucking minutes 'til we go up, if you plan on pulling a miracle out of your ass, Marcus, I suggest you stand up for it." Said vulpine stared at his phone as he was sent a text and photo.

"They're not going to make it, both of them got in fights with some guys..." Marcus sighed as he showed Roy the picture, as well as what Luke had added to it. The human, very surprisingly, laughed a bit as he looked at it. In the picture was a happy wolf smiling with the husky wrapping an arm around his shoulder, all while in the background were various beaten bodies. What really tied the pic together was the added text. _- Me and Grey just pwned a bunch of noobs, we're gonna be late and will try to make it, but first... Let me take a selfie :P_

"Tell him all is forgiven, guess it's just you and me now." Though Marcus was confused on how both Luke and Roy's minds work.

Back at the park, the husky was still skeptical about the picture message.

"I still think we won't get forgiven that easily." After a text response, the lupine shoved the phone in his face, flipping him the bird. "What the..."

"Never doubt the power of comedy!"

* * *

><p>"So yer roommates with famous mercenaries' kids?" The dirty blonde human asked, Keith smiled at him and nodded. "Oh yeah, that jus' reminded me. Paul!" The human leaned over and got the attention of the brunette. Paul was caught off guard, never really expecting to speak to Ellis at all with his best friend here.<p>

"What is it?"

"Back on Earth, I had a customer ask 'bout ya. I told 'im that I did know Keith and that he was yer younger brother, the man smiled at me and cheered for a moment." At first the hazel eyed man was completely far from caring about the topic despite being about him. "He told me ta pass a message to ya, 'Don't worry Pauly, I'm comin' to see ya someday soon, jus' yew wait!' His exact words, even told me to get hyped up and excited like that."

Paul's lip curled and his expression showed pure confusion, the older man rubbed his temple and asked a question. "By any chance, do you remember what he looked like, and maybe a name?" The dirty blonde nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"Sure did, he had messy purple hair and eyes, looked around yer age. Said his name was Don-"

"Donnel... You're telling me that Donny has been looking for me?" Before Ellis could confirm it, and even before Keith could question why Paul was showing actual human emotion to it. The curtains began to rise and the crowd quieted down. The redhead felt his grin widen when he saw both his friend and little brother step on stage. Marcus appearing a bit nervous while Roy kept an unnaturally calm demeanor. Both having a microphone in hand, the human speaking into it for an introduction.

"Sorry to say that two of our vocalists are running late, but it's ok! We have Marcus McCloud here to help." He smiled widely as the blue vulpine gave him a stern stare, the audience quickly recognizing him as the child of the Hero of Lylat. "Anyways, without further delay, here is _Lost Time Memory!"_

The music began to play and right off the bat the human started the first lines.

_Years run by and I'm living with your shadow_  
><em>Feeling more everyday that goes by<em>  
><em>I sit alone as I draw away thoughts in my mind<em>

The entire audience quieted down when the black haired boy motioned to the blue vulpine, everyone wondering how well he would actually do.

**Fight the sun down a hilly road before us**  
><strong>The hazy shape of a boy and a girl<strong>  
><strong>The rays give way, stabbing holes of the heat in my eyes<strong>

**"Why don't you butt out?"  
>"Disappear and never come back!"<br>Brushing off the hand that helped me**

_"I won't leave you"  
>You were firmly yelling<br>Grabbing to the hand that I held back _

_Lesson learned, I don't need to turn the page of_  
><em>My life goes on, so I'll rot away here<em>  
><em>A time machine turning back to the day would be nice<em>  
><em><strong><br>**_**Years fly by but I'm living, 'fraid of dying****  
>And drawing out hopes of "maybe someday"<br>Though I know that I am never to see you again  
><strong>**  
><strong>_**Don't wonder why, wanna die, wanna die  
>Grabbing my own hand, cursing it to hell as I sat there<strong>_

_Not a thing I can do might as well  
>Live it up while I'm still alive and I'm breathing<em>

**In this midsummer dream maybe see  
>The younger me that I was playing before you flew free<strong>

**Back in the days where I had hid in the haze**

_But slowly running ablaze and burning red in my brain_

**_18 years, a boy no longer  
>To wait for her to fall from somewhere<br>Remembering the figures blurring in the  
>Summer in a heart beat<em>**

**_Fight the sun in desert school grounds  
>A smile from ear to ear, it resounds<br>"Why don't we play a game?"  
>Another round as you go 'round<em>**

**"You okay?" with a worried kind of wail  
>Things like you wouldn't ever get me<br>"You act so sad, but it's all just an act in the end"  
>Today's a haze, better become apathetic<br>Keep up the pace I had yesterday 'cuz  
>I don't want your heat to ever leave like in my sleep<strong>

**If I can't dream, you and me... that I'll see...and we will be so...**  
><strong>Rather hold the past than to let go<strong>  
><strong>Never wake or I'll break from the shaking<strong>

_Outside world that tried to reject me  
>"But you can't see the day break again without tomorrow"<br>As if I would care in slightest_

_Running by all these arid days that I'd kill just so they'd go away_  
><em>Yes, I'd rather be all alone!<em>

_18 years and kind no longer  
>He cried to god but can't get stronger<br>Reaching out both his hands to hold to  
>Such a pretty smile he can't take<em>

_Fighting suns in such a small town_  
><em>"Oh god why can't you free me somehow?!"<em>  
><em>Suddenly every sigh I tried to breathe was stopping now<em>

The redheaded human couldn't believe how well Marcus was doing given it was his first time. Though he couldn't help but feel a pull at his heart strings from the lyrics he was singing.

_No can't go back_  
><strong>(That summer day)<strong>  
><em>It hurts so bad<em>  
><strong>(Don't ever touch)<strong>  
><strong><em>Or it might break<em>**

"What did we miss!" The young lupine and husky rushed to their seats beside the humans. Luke's question being screamed quietly.

"They're almost done, what took yew two so long?" Keith asked, the lupine immediately pulled up the photo. Keith could only hold his forehead in disappointment.

"They were after Marcus, we were justified in our behavior." Jacob added, which quickly brought the human to thank the two. The conversation being dropped immediately after the vulpine and human boy were back to singing.

_A voice is calling out "Can you hear me?" disappearing  
>Somehow now clear, aah so that's the reason<br>Midsummer night dreams and I reach out a hand through the haze_

**_Cry to god, a boy, no stronger  
>And in those days he stood, no falter<br>A summer smile I won't remember  
>No, it stays the same forever<em>**

"_**Guess I died. And I'm so sorry"**_  
><em><strong>Goodbye's too sad and way too lonely<strong>_  
><em><strong>Oh god, no, don't you say that you're leaving<strong>_

_**Oh no don't leave me!**_  
><em><strong>I finally know those hazy figures<strong>_  
><em><strong>Were just looking for this "me"<strong>_

Both performers smiled widely, heaving after holding the last note for a while. The young fox taking the mic back up to speak to the cheering crowd. "Thank you all, you're all too kind."

* * *

><p>After the little performance, Paul took his younger brother home as well as the redhead's best friend. The academy students all congratulated Marcus for doing so well, the praise seemed endless. He just smiled from all the positivity and blushed modestly.<p>

"I can't believe I did that, I never expected it to be fun." Marcus looked over at the others in the backseat, finding a thumbs up from the husky and getting petted by Luke. The fox took a peek at the human that was driving, never seeing his smile falter for a moment the entire car ride. After the human parked the car and everyone reentered the manor, the husky and lupine walked up the stairs, leaving Marcus and Keith to relax in the living room.

"So Keith, how much did you like our performance?" Marcus couldn't help but fish for more compliments, especially those coming from the mechanic.

"Yew two were perfect out there, I jus' wish yer mom could have seen how great ya were." Marcus could feel his face burning up, though his smile clearly said that he didn't mind it at all.

"You're too kind... Um Keith... I kinda want to repay you for uh... " The fox felt his words getting caught in his throat as he struggled to say something. But all that would come out was a mutter.

"Whatcha sayin', I can barely hear ya from here." Keith ran a hand through his hair and moved in hopes of clearly hearing the incoherent words from the young vulpine.

"Nothing... Never mind, I need to rest, my mind is still swimming from the song." Marcus laughed as he left, making his way upstairs. The redheaded human shrugged the moment off and approached the kitchen, trying to find a snack while humming the song. He was brought out of his peaceful moment when he heard footsteps rushing down the stairs and even heading in his direction. The human was surprised when he saw the small figure of Marcus heading towards.

"Heh, what brings ya back here so soo-" Keith never got to finish his question when he felt the young fox grip the collar of his shirt, bringing him down to his level. Usually he prepare himself for getting punched or slapped, but he never expected the little guy to kiss him. Marcus crashed his lips with his own, the contact and feeling put into it caused both to blush furiously as well as fell lightheaded.

The human was beginning to argue with the devil and angel on his shoulders, but at the moment, he was letting all thoughts melt away and just enjoy the kiss. Eventually, Marcus pulled away and ran back upstairs. The young fox falling back onto his bed with a wide smile on his face. _'Best day ever'_

* * *

><p><strong>No this is not the last chapter just because it's the longest. I just felt like writing a long one. Oh yeah, Lost Time Memory English dub lyrics were made by JubyPhonic on YouTube, she allows anyone to use her lyrics as long as credit is given. And if you listen to her cover, I advise the classical rock version. It's my personal favorite. Anyways, one more chapter before the end, an epilogue. So yeah, hope you all enjoyed this chapter.<strong>

**Wait, one little note to a reviewer, shadowwolf43097, I'll help ya with whatever it is you need me to help with. I shot you a PM, but didn't get a response... So yeah, I'm willing to help you.**


	25. Chapter 25: Will There Be Acceptance?

**Final chapter everyone. I have to say, I have loved writing it. I hate to see it end, hell that's why I'm doing a sequel, but all good things come to an end eventually. Anyways, thank you all for reading the story and all that other jazz.**

**Disclaimer: Best Case Scenario, if Marcus is in the new Starfox game, they use my version as his canon personality.**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I actually did it Wolf, I feel like I'm going to explode!" The young vulpine had been recounting every detail to the Star Wolf leader. Marcus' smile never faltering one bit at all, only seemingly getting wider. Though Wolf was happy about the news, he couldn't help but feel something was off. There was just something that wasn't sitting right in his mind.<p>

"Congrats Pup, I guess you earned a little treat." The lupine grinned as he disappeared into his closet, the young fox tilting his head in wonder for what he was going to receive. Eventually he emerged out of the closet and tossed something at the blue vulpine, to which he caught immediately and stared at the fabric in his arms.

"A... jacket?" The color was a very dark black, though it's not like Marcus expected any other color given he's already looked through his attire. He noticed that the jacket had a patch on the left shoulder, a Shield that had an X that spread to throughout it, dividing the inside into four separate spaces. "Why a jacket?"

The lupine flashed him a grin and recounted the tale of garment. "It belonged to a guy I dated, he was human by the way."

"Thanks...?" When the young vulpine attempted to wear it, he found that the sleeves were a bit too long for him. "Dammit, I hate being a small kid!" Before Wolf could laugh at the flinging loose ends of the sleeve, a knock on the door, caused him to shove Marcus into the closest. Closing the door firmly before checking to see who was knocking.

"Ey Wolf, sorry ta disturb ya..."

"What do you want?" He grumbled back at him, though his irritation was replaced with a grin as he noticed that his skin was a bit brighter than usual. "And why is your face so red?"

The redhead began to stutter, coupled with his drawl, he was very difficult to understand. Already knowing what it was from, the lupine decided to dismiss him and get back to the real reason he had called for him.

"I've been wonderin'... Can I run maintenance on yer Wolfen?" The mercenary shook his head.

"Can't, that's what my son is for." The lupine began to close the door, he sighed as his prediction of the human's foot in the door came true.

"We both know that he ain't gonna be doin' that well, and even if he does, hope ya like having yer ships parts scattered around." With that said, the human pulled out his foot, leaving Wolf to think about that. After a moment, he quickly realized that Luke only learned Mechanics and Engineering to help calm some of his OCD for taking things apart and making sure they were in working order. And yet, he gave him the job for just maintenance, only requiring for a few things to be checked.

"Shit, fine, you can do it, but I see one scratch, I'll castrate you!" He shouted through the door, afterwards returning the McCloud child that he shoved into the closet.

"Hey Wolf, what's this?" The lupine's blood ran cold as he kept a stoic face.

"Put that back where you found it, now..." He was glad that the fox complied with no added curiosity. _'Dammit... Now I need to hide my toys...'_

The lupine sighed deeply and pushed the vulpine out of his room, locking the door afterwards hoping that the young boy doesn't get curious and come back to ask questions. At least now he knew now that his Wolfen wouldn't fail on him during a mission.

Having thought of nothing else to do for the day, the McCloud child began to walk down the stairs to make his way to the living room. He didn't want to spend his time avoiding the redhead, staying in plain sight would be best. The young vulpine sat on the couch and fished for the remote, after a few minutes of what seemed to be a fruitless search he managed to locate it. "Why do these things always disappear...?"

Marcus smiled as he turned on the news, hoping he was just in time for a recap on the weather. He was looking forward to a sunny day for the next possible time his class takes to the skies again. Though he was curious as to what he just tuned in on. Underneath all the talk of between the hosts was the ambient melody that was strikingly similar to Lost Time Memory.

_"That's right folks, what seemed to be an ordinary performance from a regular high school, ended up being a bit of a showcase for a celebrity."_

The blue fox stared in shock as the footage came up. His heart nearly stopped as the media already had stormed in and broadcasted his performance with the youngest Smith brother.

_"Who would have known that the prodigy child of Fox McCloud would stop to have fun like this?" _Marcus gulped down his fear. It was not the worse thing, just something embarrassing to have the star system know.

"With fame comes problems..." Marcus sighed as he continued to watch, all just to hear the performance for himself. Although he still wasn't sure about his own voice, the song as a whole still was incredible. Eventually the young vulpine fell back in the full length of the couch, relaxing as the notes came to mind.

_"But the most interesting thing was what our little McCloud child did AFTER the concert." _The added commentary caused Marcus to fall over in surprise.

"No... Please no!" The young vulpine begged for it to be a farce or bluff, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest out of fear.

_"This rough photographed was taken after the young McCloud had returned to his current home in the O'Donnell residence." _That sentence alone was enough to push him over the edge. He didn't want to look at the screen to see the moment he was so proud of before, the moment that he now regretted more than anything.

"Marcus, you alright!?" The voice of the young lupine boomed with full concern. In a moment's notice, Luke was kneeling down by the fallen vulpine and interrogating him of what he cried out for. But Marcus was trying to shut the entire world out, his whole reputation was destroyed by the nosey media. His breathing became sharp as his mind kept going numb. _'My life is over... Everyone will know... Mom and Dad.. DAD! No, no, no, NO, NO!'_

"Marcus, answer me!" Luke cried out, the young vulpine covered his face, not wanting the face the world at this point.

"Luke, the hell happened in here!?" The blonde wolf looked over to find that the redhead had rushed from hearing the commotion. The human rushed over to find out more for himself, but he stopped in his track from taking a glance at the television. His eyes widen when he saw himself in the kiss earlier. Pushing his own grief aside, Keith rushed back to the situation at hand. "Marcus, it's alright..."

He whispered out as he began to bring the young fox into his arms.

"I'm sorry Keith, I should have never done it..." Marcus apologized, but the human only shook his head and held on tighter.

"If ya didn't do it, then I would've done it." At this moment, the lupine decided to leave the comforting to the redhead, but remained in earshot to make sure things were set right. "Marcus... I really, really like you, I guess the same way you do." He rubbed the small fox's back in a circular motion, hoping that a small confession could help calm him down.

"... Then what are we going to do... Mom and Dad will find out... Everyone in Lylat, hell maybe even everyone in other systems will know." The redhead head could feel Marcus gripping his shirt tighter with every word, even feeling a wetness around his right breast where the fox firmly kept his face.

"I won't let yew face the world alone." Keith pried off the young vulpine and brushed the white strands of hair that fell over Marcus' face, wiping some the tears as well and placing a kiss on his cheek. "And uh... Yer mom already gave me her blessin'..."

Marcus stared for a minute before coming to the conclusion. "See how hard it is keeping secrets from her?" The human felt a small blush spread across his cheeks, a laugh escaping his throat.

"Yeah, so... When do yew want to tell yer dad about this?" The blue vulpine stared down for a moment and soon pulled out his own phone. "Alright, I'll go tell Wolf." The two rose up from their spots and was greeted with the familiar voice of the young lupine.

"Oh no, don't get up, I'll do it, you two have fun making out." Keith grumbled as he watched Luke walked away with a smug smile, Marcus on the other hand was trying his best to cool down his burning face. When the young lupine was gone, the human sat on the couch with the young vulpine joining him. Waiting patiently for his father to pick up, sighing from the unbearable rings. Noticing a bit of stress in the boy, the human pulled the McCloud close to him, Marcus feeling a bit better.

"Marcus?" The young vulpine took a sharp breath as his father answered.

"Dad, have you seen the news?" Marcus waited for the replied, his patience was being tested.

"No I haven't, why are you telling me this?" Fox wondered for a moment, nothing seemed to add up to him. "Did Wolf get you arrested?" Though it was bit funny to hear that, it still did not ease the tension that was weighing on the young fox.

"No, nothing like that. But, do you remember Keith?" Marcus recalled that night his family had dinner with his roommates. As did the older vulpine.

"The human? What about him?" The blue fox took in a deep breath, now was his chance.

"I really... Like him dad, I even kissed him and it was both the best and worst moment of my life." He held his breath as he waited for his father's input.

"Son... Why was it the worst?" Fox asked, though Marcus was too drained from before, and a bit fearful for getting a question instead of an opinion.

"You should turn on the news, I'm sure it'll explain it better than I can." Following after was a long moment of silence, during this period of time, the young vulpine managed to make himself comfortable being in the hold of the human. The silence was unbearable, but not impossible to endure.

"Marcus, I only have one question."

"Y-Yeah...?" The young fox shrunk as he feared what his father would ask about.

"Are you happy with this?" Fox asked, his question being a bit vague yet still standing firm.

"I-I... I am happy, I won't care what anyone else thinks, I'm happy and that's all that should matter." Keith was surprised that such words came out of the young fox. He couldn't help but stop his goofy smile from spreading across his face.

"Then I'm ok with it. Your happiness is all I care for." Before he could thank his father, Fox had already hung up and left the young vulpine smiling widely. Marcus slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked up at the human, his face telling him all he needed to know. The redhead couldn't help but admire the soft child like features on him.

"Dammit, for seventeen, yer fuckin' adorable and cute." Keith couldn't help but chuckle at his own words, he had no idea why he even felt the need to say it. "Whoo, been wantin' to say that for a while now." The young vulpine put on a pout and tried to look angry at the human.

"Doesn't mean I can't seriously hurt you." The human shook his head, the young McCloud soon moving up to the kiss softly on his neck, making the redhead flush red from the more sensitive spot of his neck being touch. Though ticklish bliss soon turned to sharp pain as the vulpine bit down on his neck.

"Still think I'm cute?" Keith clutched the spot where he felt the pain, feeling a bit of blood seep through his fingers and noticing that some crimson was staining Marcus' lower lip. As his natural instinct from sustaining wounds, the human retrieved a patch of gauze from his wallet and applied to his bleeding bite wound. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do it that ha-Mph!"

His apology was cut when by the human planting a kiss on him, making sure to lick up the stray blood as well. Marcus stared wide eyed from the action. After a moment, the human looked away.

"Sorry 'bout that, I can't really help myself whenever I get hurt or... Sumthin'." Keith's scarred face was full flushed red, the young vulpine knew the reason behind his actions and felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's fine, your brother told me what happens when you get hurt or feel adrenaline pump." He could hear a faint curse for the black haired human coming from the redhead. The words Blackmail being one of the most noticeable. "Um Keith... Although it might stupid to ask this, but... Will you go out with me?"

"I would love tew Marcus." The blue fox rested his head on the human's chest, all while the human held onto him. Both enjoying the warmth coming from each other.

"Dammit... That's 10 credits down the drain..." Luke slumped against the staircase wall, taking out said amount of cash and handing it over to the Jacob. The husky smiled as he received another 10 credits from the younger lupine's father. All three had been eavesdropping and placed bets on Fox's reaction. Both O'Donnells were sure to have something along the lines of an awkward father-son talk.

"If I had known that the older pup was fine with gays, I would've snatched him up long before that damn vixen..." Wolf cursed his luck out loud, leaving the husky and blue eyed lupine to stare in confusion.

"What?"

* * *

><p><strong>Strange way to end a story... But have you known me for ever taking the normal way out? Anyways, thank you all for reading up and putting up with (insert your problem with the story here) for this long. Again, there will be a sequel. But right now, hope you all enjoyed this story in all it's entirety! I'll see you next time at the new story. Psst, it will be M rated...<strong>

**Next Time: The Mercenary Games!**


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